


The Unconventional Convention - True Mates

by RahvinMcCoy



Series: The Unconventional [2]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:26:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22762423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RahvinMcCoy/pseuds/RahvinMcCoy
Summary: Ok, so this is an alternate version to The Unconventional Convention. Carlilse/Bella pairing. Seven years after the Cullens left, Bella is working towards her goal of becoming a doctor, but has one last step to go before graduation and that is a medical convention in Seattle. What happens when she runs into a familiar face she never expected to see again? How will she react?
Relationships: Carlisle Cullen/Bella Swan
Series: The Unconventional [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606771
Comments: 2
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 –

Bella watched out the window as the plane taxied up to the terminal. Looking out at Sea-Tac as the plane came to a halt, she couldn’t ignore the excitement she felt about being this close to Forks, her home, that she had fled over seven years ago. Trying not to think about why she had fled to Houston, TX she prepared to disembark the plane.

Following the crowd down the ramp, she went to the baggage claim to get her one lone suitcase before heading over to the rental desk to pick up the keys to her wheels for the weekend. She took the keys and went outside to her rental, stopping just outside the doors to soak in the typical Washington weather, overcast and dreary. As much as she loved the sun, there was a part of her still that loved this weather more. With a sigh she moved on to her rental, a Dodge Charger, and laughed to herself about the car. Seven years ago she wouldn’t have cared about the comforts this car offered, she would only have cared if it got her from point A to point B, like her truck did.

As she pulled out of the airport parking lot, she smiled fondly as she thought about her truck. When she decided to go to college in Houston, she had given her truck to the pack in La Push knowing they could use it to haul the wolves around and Jacob would be able to keep it running for them. Charlie had understood her need to leave, but he sure hadn’t been happy about it. He made sure to come down to Houston to visit her as often as he could as she had refused to set foot in Forks again.

Seattle wasn’t really Forks, so she had agreed to suffer through the trip as it was required for her to graduate with her medical degree. Her last assignment for class was to attend this medical convention that was going on all weekend. Pulling into the parking garage for the hotel that the convention was being held in, she allowed herself to actually feel happy for the first time in years. Getting her medical degree was the only thing that had kept her going after she graduated high school. It gave her something to keep her focused on moving forward.

Walking up to the check in counter, Bella waited for the young man working the desk to finish with the current guest standing in front of her.

“Welcome to the Westin Seattle, are you checking in?” 

Bella looked up at the young man, not having noticed that he had finished with the person before her. “Yes, I need to check in for the medical convention as well as my room for the weekend.”

“I can get both of those handled for you. What is your name?” The young man asked as he started typing on the computer.

“Isabella Swan.”

“Alright, Ms. Swan, I have you checked in for the convention and I will give you your badge and itinerary momentarily. Let me get you checked in for your room first.” A frown creased his face as he read the screen.

“Is there a problem?” Bella asked, hoping that she hadn’t forgotten to do something to confirm her room.

“Not anything we can’t fix.” He paused to type something into the computer. “It seems that we over booked the floors that we set aside for the convention and you are the last to check in.”

“What does that mean for me?” She asked, fisting her hands in worry.

“Well, as this was an error on our side, we will upgrade you to the next available room.”

As she listened to his fingers type away at the computer, Bella felt her good mood slipping away. She had saved up for this weekend and had only managed to get enough for the room, car rental and a little bit of spending money in case she managed to get out of the hotel for a bit. This room upgrade was going to wreak havoc on her savings account.

“How much more is this going to cost me?”

“There will be no additional fees, Ms. Swan, as this was our error. We are going to set you up with a better room at the rate of the room you had originally requested.” 

Bella sighed in relief. “That works.”

He chuckled. “Alright, it appears that you will be on the fifth floor in one of our suites. Let me get this all set up in the system so you can head up. I will have someone bring up the receipt as I need to wait for my manager to approve everything in the system.”

“Thank you.”

“Alright, Ms. Swan, I apologize for the issue. Here is your badge and itinerary for the convention.” He handed her an envelope. “Also, you will be in room 5105, here is your room key. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you and someone will be up shortly with your printout.”

She took the room key and headed over to the lifts, taking one up to the fifth floor. Letting herself into her room, she took in the furnishings of the living room area she found herself standing in. Just the size of this room told her that the suite was going to be totally wasted on her as she was alone and didn’t plan on entertaining anyone as she didn’t know anyone at this convention. She had been the only one in her class that chose this convention to attend; the rest had chosen to go to the one in New York. Putting her bags in the bedroom, she went back to the living room and sat down with the itinerary. Looking it over, she saw that the seminars didn’t start till the next morning, but there was a dinner being provided for the participants and speakers. Looking at her watch, she saw that dinner would be in about thirty minutes.

Deciding she wanted a shower before dinner, she stood and moved towards the bedroom when she heard a knock on her door. Going to open the door, the first thing she noticed was the same young man from the check in desk earlier standing in front of her. Then she noticed a blonde headed man enter the room directly across from hers and close his door without turning around. At first she thought she had recognized him, causing her breath to hitch, but then she realized that there was no way he would be here, they had moved out of Washington over seven years ago and it was too soon for them to move back.

The sound of a throat being cleared brought her attention back to the man standing at her door.

Bella blushed and smiled shyly at him. “Sorry, umm, hi.”

“Hello again, Ms. Swan.” He smiled at her and held something out to her. “As promised, here is the printout of the charges for your stay here this weekend.”

Bella took the proffered paper and glanced at the balance due, shot a confused look at the man standing before her and read over the printout again. “There has to be something wrong with this…”

“No, Ms. Swan, everything is correct. When I contacted my manager about approving the upgrade with the same rates as the prior room, he informed me that your suite had already been paid for. There are no charges for your stay with us this weekend.”

“But, I…I don’t understand.” She whispered. “Who paid for it?”

“Alas, Ms. Swan, that I cannot tell you. My manager was the one who handled this and he was under strict orders to leave the payment as anonymous.”

“Oh, well, I would have liked to say thank you to whoever paid for it.” She looked at the printout again and then at the door across the way, but dismissed the thought before it even started. “Thank you for bringing me the receipt and for all your help.”

“It was nothing, Ms. Swan. Please enjoy your stay and let us know if you need anything else.”

Bella watched him walk away before closing her door. Going back to her previously vacated seat, she absent mindedly picked up the itinerary and glanced over the different seminars, not really seeing anything. Her mind was stuck on trying to figure out who would have paid for her room and the only conclusion she could come to was Charlie. He was the only one that knew she was here, other than her professors back in Houston. 

Glancing at the clock, she saw she only had about fifteen minutes until dinner was being served. Going into the bedroom, she grabbed a change of clothes before heading into the bathroom for a quick shower. 

Less than ten minutes later she was dressed in a pair of jeans with a black camisole. She finished off the outfit with a red button down and her black cowboy boots. Looking at herself in the mirror as she rolled the sleeves up to her elbows, she smiled at the changes Houston had made in her. Thanks to the setting, she spent most of her free time outside with her only friend there, learning to play the guitar and learning her way around horses. Her life really had changed.

Grabbing her badge and room key, she did one last look in the mirror to make sure her makeup and attire were presentable and headed out of the room. Once downstairs, she followed the convention signs and joined a queue to enter the main conference room. Looking around, she hoped to see maybe one or two faces that she recognized from class, but she knew that she wouldn’t. 

Walking into the conference room, she saw that tables had been set up so that everyone could choose where they wanted to sit. She was hoping for assigned seating, that way she wouldn’t feel so shy about locating a place to sit. With a sigh, she moved over to the side of the room where the drinks were being served. Looking over the list provided, she asked for a glass of Riesling and turned back to survey the room after taking the glass offered.

Bella noted that there were more people at this convention than she had expected, but she had to remember that the crowd before her also included the speakers. Seeing that most everyone had started gathering in groups, she saw a table along the far wall that was still empty so she quickly made her way over there. Claiming a chair that had her back towards the wall so she could watch the room around her. 

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, if you could find your seats we will be serving dinner momentarily.”

Bella looked to the front of the room and saw the same young man from the check in counter walking away from the stage that was set up in the front of the room. Turning back to the room, she caught a glimpse of a tall well-built man walking away from her and she thought it must have been the same man who had the room across from hers once she saw the blonde hair. Studying the way he carried himself she found herself wishing that he was really there. Shaking her head, she took a drink of her wine and nodded to the people that were moving to take the available seats at the table. 

Dinner passed in a blur of wine, lasagna and polite chat. Before she was aware, dinner was over and everyone was heading back to their rooms. Deciding it had been a really long day; she took the lift up to her floor and stepped out just in time to see the blonde man duck into his room. Walking down to her room, she wondered if she was ever going to see more than just the back side of the blonde man in the room across from hers.

Going into her room, she changed into her pjs and curled up in the bed. Just before turning off the light, she remembered the itinerary and went back out to the living room and checked to see when the first seminar started. Glancing at the paper she saw the first seminar started at nine the next morning and breakfast was being served at eight. Shuffling her way back to the bedroom, she set her alarm for seven and turned the light off. Closing her eyes, she thought about the blonde man and the family that had left her seven years ago.

Groaning at the sound of her alarm, Bella threw her arm out to hit the snooze button, completely aware that she would be forcing her way out of bed so that she wouldn’t fall back asleep. Almost like she was sleep walking, she moved into the bathroom and took her shower before picking out her outfit for the day. Looking in the mirror, she had to laugh as it was basically the same as what she wore to dinner, just a white button down this time over a red camisole. Grabbing her itinerary and her tablet she headed down for breakfast.

Grabbing a coffee and a muffin, she moved to a table closer to the front but along the same wall as last night. Setting everything on the table, she turned on her tablet and got everything set up for the seminar. Munching on her muffin, she watched as the other participants meandered through the room, talking to people they knew and finally finding a place to sit. It wasn’t long before the first seminar started and she was totally engrossed in everything the speaker was talking about. 

Before Bella knew it, they were being dismissed for the lunch break. Looking around, she saw that most everyone got up to stretch their legs, just to grab a drink and sit back down at their tables waiting for the food to be served. She followed their lead, stretching out her legs and back before getting some ice tea to drink for the afternoon seminars. Lunch passed by quickly for her, she was lost in the notes she had taken from the morning. 

Preparing her tablet to start the notes for the next seminar, she saw that it was going to be about working in the ER and how to handle the stress of that position. She noticed that there was not a name provided for the speaker, which was odd. They must have had a hard time getting a speaker for this one and didn’t have time to update the itinerary before it was printed, she thought. She had to admit to herself, this was the seminar she was the most excited to be at. The ER was where she was planning on working once she finished her residency. With a sigh, she refused to think about the reasons for choosing the ER and turned her attention to the podium as they were calling everyone back to their seats.

“Alright, I hope everyone enjoyed their lunch and the break. If everyone is ready we will move on to the first seminar for the afternoon. I know that most of you are interested in this seminar as it will help you to decide if you want to be a trauma doctor or work more predominantly out of your office. We took our time in getting the next speaker as we wanted to make sure that we only had the best for you. So without further delay, let me introduce to you, Dr. Carlisle Cullen.”

Bella snapped her eyes up from her tablet in time to see him walk up next to the man who had been introducing everyone and shake his hand. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She had never expected to see any of them again, let alone Carlisle. She felt her nervousness and worry start to overwhelm her just as he stepped up to the mic.

“Good afternoon, everyone. I trust that you have all enjoyed having your ears talked off by the previous speakers. I promise that I will be following in their footsteps.” Carlisle paused to scan the room, but stopped when he met Bella’s confused stare. “I promise there will be time at the end for you to ask your questions. I will answer every one of them that I can.”

Bella watched as he took the mic off of the stand and started to walk back and forth as he went over the pros and cons of working in the ER. She tried to take notes but was lost to what he was saying as he moved around the front of the room. Every few minutes his gaze would be drawn back to her and her nervousness would spike just a little. She had no idea why he kept looking at her, although she had felt like he was making sure that she was still in her seat. Many times during his seminar she had felt the need to run away, not sure if she could deal with being around any of them again. They had all left her without even saying goodbye.

All too soon she found the seminar to be over and she watched as Carlisle walked to the back of the room to speak with a few of the other speakers. Feeling a bit light headed after sitting through the seminar, she glanced at the next seminar and found it to be one that she did not need to attend. Quickly gathering her things, she made a hasty retreat from the room and almost ran to the lifts, waiting impatiently for one to arrive to take her to her floor.

“Isabella?”

Bella sighed as she heard his voice call her name. Everything in her told her to ignore him and run for the stairs, but she found herself turning around against her will.

Carlisle smiled at her. “Hello, Isabella.”

“Carlisle.” She responded, barely able to get it passed her suddenly dry lips. Just then the lift arrived and the doors opened.

Carlisle gestured for her to step into the lift and followed in after her. Leaning over, he pressed the button for the fifth floor and stood behind her.

Bella was still so shocked over his appearance at the convention as well as him talking to her, that she was going on auto pilot. The doors opened and she stepped out onto the fifth floor, automatically turning to head to her room. She was fully aware that Carlisle was following behind her. Stopping at her room, she watched as he opened the door to the room across from hers. She snorted quietly to herself as she realized that her earlier thoughts about the blonde man were true.

Carlisle turned back to Bella before stepping into his room. “Isabella, I know that you may not want to have anything to do with me, but I would enjoy the chance to talk.”

“I…” She stammered, not sure how to respond to the man who left her without a goodbye. Just then she realized that his leaving hurt her the most and she wasn’t sure how to deal with him. With a sigh, she responded without giving it a thought, letting instincts take over. “I would like that.”

Carlisle visibly relaxed and gave her a soft smile. “Thank you, Isabella. I will let you be now. I do not have another seminar until tomorrow afternoon, so please, just knock on the door when you are ready.”

She stood in her doorway staring at the empty space before her that just held the man who has now managed to completely confuse her way of thinking. With a sigh, she walked into her room, closing the door behind her. Leaning against the door, she wasn’t sure what she was doing. Never in the past seven years had she even thought about what she should do if she ever ran into any of the Cullens.

Walking over to the living room, she set her stuff down on the table and all but dropped into a chair. What was she supposed to do? He had left her without a goodbye and only now was she realizing just how hurt she had been over that. Yes she missed the rest of the family and Edward leaving her had completely torn her apart, but the fact that Carlisle had left without any thought to how it would affect her was the most painful part of it. The rejection she had felt from the family hurt but his rejection hurt the most as he had always been so accepting of her.

As she thought, she kept glancing at the door, almost expecting him to knock on it or to be able to see through the door and see him standing there, waiting to talk to her. Shaking her head to clear her delusional thoughts, she decided there was no better time than the present, so she did the first thing that came to her mind.

“Carlisle.” She called softly, knowing he would hear her if he was still in his room. Sure enough, not ten seconds later there was a knock on her door.

Getting up from her chair, she walked over and opened the door. What she found there was slightly surprising and breathtaking if she was being honest with herself. Carlisle stood there, looking as handsome as ever, but he was dressed more casually than she had ever seen him. Gone were the slacks and sweater, in their place he wore a pair of dark washed jeans and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The top buttons left undone to give just a tease of what the flesh underneath would look like. But what really caught her attention was how unsure he looked. Never before had Carlisle portrayed anything other than complete assurance that he knew what he was doing.

“Isabella.” He said softly, drawing her attention back to his face. “I’m…”

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 -

_“Isabella.” He said softly, drawing her attention back to his face. “I’m…”_

She waited for him to continue, but was dumbfounded when he continued to just stand there. Suddenly she realized that he was nervous. With that shock settling in, she decided to take pity on him and opened the door further for him to walk passed her.

He nodded his thanks and moved into the living room, looking at the chairs but not moving to take one.

“Carlisle, what did you want to talk about?”

He turned to look back at her, looking at her as if he was trying to memorize the way she looked. “Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were ok.”

She stood there staring at him, with her jaw on the floor. “Ok? After seven years you want to know if I’m doing ok.”

“Well, yes.” Carlisle looked down at the floor. “I have been worried about you.”

His admission took the heat out of her anger. “I…umm…really?” 

Glancing back up at her he nodded.

Sighing, she moved into the room and gestured for him to sit down. Taking the other seat, she pulled her legs up so they were underneath her and she looked at him again, closer this time. She didn’t know it was possible, but for a vampire, Carlisle looked tired and worn out. Her heart went out to him, but then she remembered what he did and her heart hardened again. “Why would you be worried about me after all this time? You were the ones who left.”

Carlisle visibly flinched in his seat and focused on his hands in his lap. After a few moments of silence he raised his eyes to meet Bella’s, meeting her angry gaze with his pained gaze.

“I am sorry if our leaving caused you pain. We only did what Edward said you wanted us to do. If I would have known…”

“Wait.” Bella cut him off. “What do you mean what I wanted you to do? I was the one left behind; I had nothing to do with the leaving other than apparently being the cause of it.”

“Edward told us that he was going to break things off with you and move away and that we should do the same. He told us that when he spoke with you that you told him that you didn’t want to see any of us again. That if he left, we should all leave.” He chanced a glance at her face. “Is that not what you wanted, Isabella?”

She slumped into her seat as far as she could go the old wound opening in her chest. She couldn’t stop thinking about what happened seven years ago in the woods behind her house.

_***flashback***_

_Bella followed him into the woods until Edward stopped by a fallen tree. He turned to look at her before speaking._

_“We need to leave Forks”_

_Bella couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “What? Why?”_

_“It's time. Carlisle's supposed to be ten years older than he looks; people will start noticing.”_

_She took in a shaky breath. “_ _But…when?”_

_“Now.”_

_Bella reeled, trying to take this in. “I'll have to think of something to tell Charlie, but I can be ready…”_

_Edward shook his head interrupting her. “Not you. Us.”_

_Staring at him, she was stunned._ _“What? No! Edward, what happened with Jasper…that was nothing.”_

_Edward frowned down at her._ _“Nothing compared to what could happen. You don't belong in my world.”_

_“I belong with you.”_

**_“_ ** _You don't.”_

_Bella drew in a shaky breath. **“**_ _I'm coming.”_

_Without missing a beat, Edward drove the final nail into her coffin. “_ _I don't want you to come!”_

_Bella is stung, as if slapped. **”** You don't... want me.” _

**_“_ ** _No.” Edward responded, annoyance clear in his voice._

_She stepped back, trying to understand what he was saying, realization of her worst fears coming true written all over her face._

_Edward turned back towards her with a pleading look in his eyes. “_ _I'd like to ask one favor though.”_

_Bella looks up, hope flashing across her face. “_ _Anything.”_

_“_ _Don't do anything stupid or reckless. Do you understand?” He paused, watching her face before adding, “For Charlie's sake. Just…take care of yourself.”_

_Still lost in the shock of what was happening, she responded._ _“I…yes…I will.”_

_She watched as his face softened ever-so-slightly._

_He almost looked like he wanted to caress her cheek but refrained._ _“Don't worry. You're human. Time heals all wounds for your kind. Particularly if you're not reminded.”_

_Desperation wells up in her, overwhelming dignity, she pleaded with him. **“** No, this is - don't do this. Please.”_

_Edward took a deep breath as his face turned cold again. **“** Try to understand. Every second with you is about restraint. You're too fragile. I'm tired of pretending to be something I'm not. Reining myself in so I can be with a human.” _

**_“If this is about my soul?_ ** _Then take it. I don't care! I don't want it without you…”_

_He cut her off sharply._ _“It’s not about your soul. You're just not good for me, Bella.”_

_Bella looked at him. His hard face. His resolve. “I’m not good enough.”_

_“_ _I've let it go on too long. I'm sorry.” He looks at her with a pained expression._

_Tears stung Bella's eyes. This couldn't be happening, but she had been expecting it._

_He stepped forward…kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes._

_Resting his chin on her head he made his parting promise._ _“I promise, it will be like I never existed. Goodbye, Bella.”_

_By the time she opened her eyes…he was gone. She spun, looking for him._

_***end of flashback***_

Bella was pulled out of her memories to find tears streaming down her face and an ache in her chest, reminding her of what she lost. This she was used to when she allowed that memory to resurface. What she wasn’t expecting was Carlisle’s reaction.

Carlisle had panicked at the first sign of Bella falling into her memories, he watched as she pulled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her chest. He didn’t know what to do as the tears started to stream down her face. He had called out to her, trying to calm her down but it was as if she couldn’t hear him.

He stood from his chair and picked her up, quickly taking a seat in her chair with her in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and placed gentle kisses on her forehead, murmuring to her that he was there, that it would be alright.

Bella leaned back and gasped at the pain she saw etched on Carlisle’s face. His eyes were closed so he hadn’t noticed her stare yet. Reaching her hand up, she laid her palm against his cheek, trying to comfort him and take away some of his pain.

Carlisle opened his once golden eyes to look down at her with eyes darkened with pain. “Did we cause that pain? Was that the affect our leaving had on you?”

She barely heard him, his voice was but a whisper, yet she could clearly hear the sorrow in his words. “That was from a memory of Edward breaking up with me. He took me out into the woods behind my house and told me he didn’t want me anymore, I was just a distraction and he was tired of playing at being human. He told me he was taking you and the rest of the family away from me before he left me alone with my despair, standing in the woods.”

Carlisle tightened his arms around her, pulling her back into his chest. “I am so sorry, sweetheart. If I would have known, I never would have allowed the family to leave you behind like that. I am so, so sorry.”

Bella felt him bury his face into her hair and then he started shaking, sobbing softly against her. She didn’t know what to make of this. Had Edward lied to his family and her to keep her away from them? How could someone be so cruel to his family? To the ones he claimed to love?

They sat like that for what felt like forever as they both cried over the pain caused all those years ago. Slowly they both calmed down, but Carlisle kept her pulled in close.

“Isabella, can you ever forgive me?”

Reaching up she rested her hand on the back of his head, gently running her fingers through his hair trying to offer him some kind of comfort. “Carlisle, it is Edward who should be begging for forgiveness not you. He apparently lied to you so that I couldn’t continue to be a bother to him.”

He nuzzled the side of her neck where his face was pressed into her hair. “Maybe if I had been a better father to him, a better leader, he wouldn’t have been able to lie to us. He wouldn’t have been able to tear our family apart.”

She leaned back, trying to look him in the face. “Carlisle?”

He pulled back just far enough to look her in the eyes. There was so much pain in that one look that she felt her heart breaking for him and the rest of the family.

“Carlisle, what happened after he left me?”

Taking a deep breath, he started to rub circles on her back, soothing her as he tried to sooth himself. “He told Jasper it was all his fault that you wouldn’t have broken up with him if Jasper could have just controlled his bloodlust. The guilt that Jasper felt was already intense before Edward added to it. Jasper left afterwards and Alice only heard from him when he sent her the divorce papers. She didn’t stand by him when he was being attacked by Edward so he left the family. Emmett was so upset over losing you that he took Rosalie and they left right after Jasper. I haven’t heard from them in over five years.”

Bella gasped. She hated hearing how the family was torn apart based on Edward’s lies. “What about Esme?”

Carlisle flinched as if slapped. “She couldn’t believe that I let the family fall apart. She blamed me for everyone leaving. We stayed together for about a year, Alice, Esme and I, but it came to be too much. Alice was having problems with her visions and Esme was spending all of her time trying to comfort Alice and keep tabs on Edward. One day everything just blew up. Esme handed me divorce papers and took Alice to go be with Edward. Her reasoning was she couldn’t stand to be with someone who failed his family and that her son needed her.”

She didn’t know how to react to that. Those weren’t the actions of the motherly vampire that she remembered and loved. Esme sounded more like a bitter broken woman. How could anyone do that to someone they loved? Someone they claimed to be their mate?

“So you have been alone for the past six years?” Bella whispered, wanting to understand.

Carlisle nodded. “I have visited Jasper down in Texas a few times over the years, but he is the only one in the family that still talks to me.”

Bella was shocked. “Texas? Jasper lives in Texas?”

“Yes, on a ranch with his brother and sister-in-law just outside of Houston.” He looked at her and a worried look crossed his face.

“What is it Carlisle?”

“I need to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get mad.”

She leaned back. She never liked it when someone started a conversation that way. As she leaned back, she finally took note of her surroundings, mainly that she was sitting in his lap with his arms wrapped around her. Deciding to worry about that later, she tried not to cross her arms in irritation. “I shall do my best, but no promises.”

Taking a deep breath, Carlisle gave her a squeeze before speaking. “Well, as I said, Jasper moved to Houston to stay with his brother. His brother has a gift, nothing major, he just has the ability to know things that he really shouldn’t know. About three years ago, Peter told Jasper that he would need to be outside the library at the UT campus in Houston and he needed to be there around closing time. Peter wouldn’t tell him why, but Jasper did as he was told.”

Three years ago, that triggered something in her memories. She gasped. “That was when I was being chased by some guy. He came at me as I left the library, but by the time I made it to my truck he was gone.”

“That was Jasper. He told me that once he got there, he sensed the guy and his emotions were full of anxiety and excitement. He figured he was just going to deal with the guy and save some unknown person from becoming a victim. He was shocked to find out that the ‘would be’ victim was you.”

“I never knew what happened, but after that I always felt like I was being watched over.” Without thinking, she leaned down and rested her head on his chest. “Jasper was watching out for me wasn’t he?”

Carlisle rested his chin on her head. “Yes, he spent every night watching over you, making sure that you stayed out of danger. He stopped it before it ever happened.”

“Why did he never come talk to me?” Bella whispered. “I missed him so much and I always felt that I needed to tell him that I didn’t blame him. I told Edward to tell him, but I can pretty much assume that he didn’t based on what happened with the family.”

“He was afraid to. After what Edward said to him, he thought that you hated him for trying to attack you. Jasper still loves you like a sister and wants to keep you safe. I know he would be shocked to hear how you really feel about him.” He lightly ran his fingers through her hair. “We can call him if you want.”

Bella thought about that. She really did want to talk to Jasper, tell him that she never blamed him for what he did and to hug him. She shook her head. “I can’t tell him over the phone, Carlisle, he won’t believe me. He spent too long being told that he was going to slip up to believe anything I say without being able to sense my emotions to know I am telling the truth.”

Carlisle sighed, he knew she was right. Jasper wouldn’t believe her over the phone, especially if she used his phone to call him. He would think that she was doing it only at Carlisle’s request. Deciding that was something that could be addressed later, he needed to tell Bella something before he lost the courage. This was one of those times that he wished he could drink as having a few shots might make this easier. “Isabella, I need to tell you something.”

Bella tensed, it was never a good thing when someone said that. That phrase was just as bad as ‘we need to talk’ and both caused her to panic. Deciding that not looking at him might make it easier to handle whatever it was he had to say, she kept her head on his chest and tried to calm her racing heart. “What is it?”

He could hear her heart racing and knew that she feared the worst. He needed to get this over with, so he tightened his arms around her and spoke. “It is not a coincidence that I was asked to be a speaker at this convention. Jasper was not the only one who was keeping an eye on you.”

Her breathing stopped as she took in what he said. She understood why Jasper was watching out for her, creepy as it may be, but she couldn’t fathom why Carlisle would. Was it out of guilt or did he promise someone? Letting out the breath she was holding, she asked, “Why?”

“I am not sure I can adequately answer that as I do not fully understand it myself. You know I had always considered you part of the family and I did my best to protect you. I never noticed how important your mere presence was to our family until Edward threw a wrench into everything. You were the missing puzzle piece that made our family whole. We were happier and calmer when you were around.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Without you, we all sort of fell apart. I quickly noticed that a part of me was missing and that was even before Esme left me. I don’t really know how to explain other than I am drawn to you, Isabella.”

“I don’t understand what you’re telling me.” She leaned back to look him in the face and gasped at the emotions playing there. She could tell that he was nervous about her reaction and there was fear there too, but what truly caught her attention was the compassion. 

Meeting her gaze he answered honestly. “I am telling you that somehow you make me whole in a way that I don’t understand. I didn’t fully understand why it hurt me so much when Edward said that you didn’t want to see us anymore. I felt like I had failed you in some way, but I tried to respect your wishes. Once Esme left, I drifted, staying with friends or I would be my own company. Everyone thought my depression was due to Esme leaving and my family falling apart, which that did have something to do with it. When Jasper reached out to me after he saved you, he told me what happened and I immediately asked if I could visit. As I made my way down to Houston, I felt the anticipation and joy of seeing you again.

“I was confused by these feelings and Jasper was just as confused by them when I showed up on his doorstep. I tried to explain what was going on to him, but I couldn’t find the words.” He smiled sheepishly. “Jasper took me with him that night to keep an eye on you and that was all it took for him to understand what was going on.”

“Carlisle, what was it?” 

_To be continued…._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 –

_“Carlisle, what was it?”_

Bella looked at him and then blushed at the depth of the emotion showing on his face. Ducking her head, she realized again that she was sitting in his lap. Something she never did with her own father or anyone else for that matter. She had only ever sat in Edward’s lap and that was only when she badgered him into letting her get that close. Starting to feel uncomfortable, she pushed against his chest and slid off his lap. Moving across the room to look out her window, she sighed. “Tell me, please.”

Carlisle stood and stared at her back, not sure how she was going to react. “I felt complete when I saw you that night and Jasper had to hold me back to keep me from going to you. He had reminded me that you didn’t want anything to do with us so we were just there to keep you safe, not to join in your life.”

Still looking out the window, she saw his reflection in the glass. “That doesn’t explain why you’re here if it’s not a coincidence.”

Putting his hands in his pockets he hunched his shoulders, preparing for her anger. “After that night, I kept track of you and your studies. I was intrigued when I learned that you were studying to become a doctor and I wanted to offer my help, but I knew you didn’t want it. I went back to travelling and working as I was called in to help in different areas, but I kept up with Jasper so he could let me know how you were doing. I found out about this convention and Jasper was unable to follow you as he was afraid that you would catch him, that and Peter told him now was not the time for you two to reconnect. So I offered to come in his stead as I had a legitimate reason to be here and I volunteered to speak at the convention.”

“So you two have essentially been stalking me for years and you have now decided that instead of staying in the background, you needed to talk to me?” Her emotions were at war inside her. She felt happy knowing that they still cared enough about her to keep her safe, but then there was the anger that she always felt when Edward tried to control her life. She had done just fine over the past seven years of making her own decisions and she wasn’t about to let anyone else take that control away from her ever again. “Did you two not think how I would react when I found out?”

“Honestly, both of us were planning on staying out of your way, just being there in case you needed us. I never planned on actually talking to you unless you came up to me.” Carlisle moved to stand beside her at the window. “But when I saw you yesterday, I have to say I kind of lost my will power to stay away from you. I guess you can say that I was taking more risks than necessary as when I found out that they had over booked the floor for the convention, I was the one that upgraded your room to this suite. All of the speakers are on this floor and I knew I could keep an eye on you better from here and I would be closer if you needed me.”

Bella gasped. “So you…you paid for my room? I…oh wow…I don’t know how to react to that.”

“I wanted you to be comfortable and close by. I can’t seem to stay away from you any longer and I don’t really want to fight the pull I feel anymore.” Carlisle turned to look at her. “Isabella?”

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “What?”

“Look at me please?”

Bella turned to face him, arms crossed as if to protect herself. “What?”

He searched her face, looking for something. With a sigh, he pushed through what he wanted to tell her. “I never understood or paid much attention to the strong feelings that I have for you, Isabella. I thought that it stemmed from accepting you as a daughter, a mate for Edward.” He paused as she grimaced. Reaching up, he gently caressed her cheek as he continued. “I hate that it took this long for me to come to my senses. I am drawn to you and I don’t want to fight the pull anymore.”

“I still don’t understand, Carlisle. Are you saying you want me to let you back into my life? You and Jasper?” The feel of his hand on her cheek felt too good and she found herself leaning into the touch. She had missed this simple contact from another person. Looking up at him, she felt a spark run across her skin as she saw the look in his eyes. “Tell me what you want.”

“You want the simple short answer?”

She nodded, not able to break eye contact with him.

“You.”

She gasped. She couldn’t have heard him correctly. It had been seven years since she had seen any of the Cullens and had spent all that time believing that they all wanted nothing to do with her. Yet here stood Carlisle, the patriarch of the family, telling her that he wanted her. But in what way? She couldn’t hide the fact that his closeness and his simple touches were stirring something deep within her, something she hadn’t felt in so long. Confusion clouded her mind; she barely managed to squeak out a response. “Me?”

Carlisle brought his other hand up to cup her face. Leaning down just enough to bring them nose to nose, he nodded. “Yes, you.”

“Me?” Bella squeaked again. “Really?”

Carlisle nodded, not wanting to interrupt her thinking.

“No. I don’t…you can’t…that’s…oh hell.” She finished in a huff.

Carlisle chuckled. “I’m not sure how I should take that response.”

“You can’t…” She took a deep breath, trying to focus herself. “Sorry. I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I should be the one apologizing, Isabella. I didn’t think before I came over here and I shouldn’t be telling you this. I know you didn’t want us in your lives anymore and I respect your decision. I will leave you alone.” He lightly kissed her forehead and darted out of the room.

Bella blinked, not completely sure what just happened. Looking around her room, she noticed that it felt completely empty now that Carlisle was gone. Turning to look back out of the window, she thought about everything that had happened since she called out to him. 

Carlisle had acted so shy and nervous and yet he looked more comfortable than she remembered from when she was still with Edward. He was always looking after his ‘children’ and it seemed, now that she was thinking about it, that he never really was able to relax as he was either working or dealing with someone’s issue. Which at that time was usually something that had to do with her. He had always made time for her though, no matter what he was doing. Always greeted her with a smile.

She was still reeling from the news that Jasper and Carlisle had been keeping tabs on her while she had been in Houston. If she was being honest with herself, she felt cared for. That was the only reason that they would be looking out for her, unless they felt obligated to, but they hadn’t wanted her after Edward left so that thought just left her confused again. Then Carlisle comes over here and pulls her into his lap, holding her like she used to beg Edward to. 

“Why can’t things just be simple?” She asked the room. Looking out the window, she remembered seeing his reflection in it earlier. He had looked so unsure of himself and yet he had been more handsome than she ever remembered him being. She shook her head, trying to stop those thoughts from going any further. He was Carlisle, not just someone to lust after. Yet, as she remembered how comfortable he looked in his jeans and button down, the top three buttons left undone, she couldn’t help wondering what he would look like with his shirt off and his perfect blonde hair mussed.

“Ugh.” Bella leaned her head against the window. “What’s wrong with me?”

She closed her eyes and went back over the conversation, trying to distract herself from the naughty thoughts she was having.

She was shocked to hear that the family had split up so completely after they left. She needed to speak with Jasper and let him know that she never blamed him for what he did and apologize for causing the rift between him and the rest of his family. And Esme? How could someone so easily leave the person they claimed to be mated to? She knew now that Edward and she weren’t meant to be, but even that knowledge didn’t make it any easier to handle him leaving her. After hearing what Carlisle said, she fully believed that Edward left her to protect her and not for the reasons he gave that day in the woods

Bella could understand why Alice left to go be with Edward and Esme made sense as well, but Carlisle should have been there too. Edward was his first companion and Carlisle should not have been left out of his life. She was giving herself a headache going over all of this information. Deciding that fresh air would be a smart idea before she went down for dinner, she freshened up in the bathroom before leaving her room. Stepping out into the hallway, she couldn’t help thinking about Carlisle as she stared at his door. With a sigh, she turned to leave.

“I’m going for a walk.” She said as she headed to the lift. She knew he would hear her if he was in his room and she didn’t want him to worry if he went looking for her and found she wasn’t there. As the lift doors opened, she turned to look down the hallway and saw him standing there, watching her. He looked so broken in that moment that it took everything in her not to go to him and give him the comfort he seemed so in need of. With a sigh, she stepped into the lift and pushed the button for the first floor.

She sighed as she stepped out on the first floor. Walking towards the front of the lobby, she almost expected to have someone impede her progress and tell her it was not safe out there. Another part of her had hoped that he would have wanted to join her for the walk. She didn’t understand the feelings that seeing Carlisle made her feel. She wanted to be close to him and to put a smile on his face. If she was being brutally honest, she was seeing him as a man and not a father figure. This scared her as she wasn’t sure she could survive another round with a vampire. 

“Isabella?”

Bella fought down a smile as she stopped at the lobby door. Turning, she watched as Carlisle walked briskly to stop at her side. “Yes?”

Carlisle reached forward for the door and held it open for her. “Mind if I tag along for your walk?”

Shaking her head with a sigh, she stepped through the open door. “It’s a free country, Carlisle.”

He fell in step next to her as she walked. He kept his hands in his pockets as he kept pace beside her, not asking where they were headed, just enjoyed the companionable silence.

Bella couldn’t handle the silence anymore. She needed answers and hoped that they would help her deal with the urge she was fighting to link her arm through his as they walked.

“Why are you really here?”

Carlisle sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Spotting a park off to the side, he led her over to a bench and waited for her to sit before taking a seat himself. “I am not sure I can answer that.”

“Why not?” She huffed. “You always have the answer, Carlisle.”

“This time I’m afraid I am just as confused as you sound. I know my showing up in your life again was not what you were expecting based on what you have already said.” He turned to look at her. “I am sorry for the part I played in your pain back in Forks and I wish I could take it away from you. If I had known what he was doing, I wouldn’t have allowed our family to leave you behind. It’s not what family does. I wouldn’t have left you.”

“Thank you, but that still doesn’t answer the question of why you are here. Why is it that the family split and you seek me out with Jasper? Why am I so important to you two?” She leaned back and looked up at the clouds in the sky. “I don’t understand why you are here now.”

Carlisle looked at her, seeing the hurt on her face and fighting the urge to pull her into his arms. “Isabella, I don’t know how to answer your questions. I also can’t tell you why it is that Jasper keeps an eye on you. I know part of it is to make amends for what happened on your birthday, but I think there is more to it for him. Me? My reasoning is a bit more difficult. I started out the same way as Jasper when I found out he was keeping an eye on you. I was drawn to you and I thought it was just to make sure you were alright.” 

She looked at him. “And now?”

“Now I can’t seem to stay away. I have left Houston a few times since I saw you the first time down there, but I quickly completed whatever had taken me away so that I could get back to Houston, to get back to you.” He looked into her eyes, trying to gauge her reactions. “I know that you are fine without us in your life and I would understand if you told me right now to leave you alone. After everything that has happened to you since you learned of our existence, both Jasper and I would completely understand.”

Bella turned to look at Carlisle. She could see the compassion that she always associated with him, but she could also see something else. “So you are here for me and you want me. Want me how?”

If he could have, he would have blushed. “Ah, well, yes I am here for you. As I said in your room, I want you. It’s not something I expected or planned on happening. I am really not sure how to explain this to you.”

“Does it have anything to do with why you seem so sad?”

“What?” He was shocked that she had picked up on that.

“Ever since you came to talk to me, it was like I could feel your sadness, but you also seemed to be nervous. I never expected you to be nervous about anything.” Bella shook her head. “The you I see here is not the same as the image of you I remember from back in Forks. I’m probably not making any sense.”

“You are, I am just shocked. Normally it’s just Jasper that I have to hear stuff like that from. You are more perceptive than I gave you credit for.” He smiled at her. “Was there anything else that you felt?”

Bella cocked her head to the side, not sure how to answer that question. Ducking her head, she hid behind a curtain of hair. “Yes. I could feel how happy you were when you were holding me, but I could also feel your anger and grief over the cause of my pain. I thought I was the only one that felt so many things at once.”

Carlisle looked at her, amazed that she had been able to pick up on his feelings like that. He wasn’t kidding when he told her only Jasper was ever able to read him like that. Even Esme, whom he thought to be his mate couldn’t do what Bella just did. “Isabella?”

“What?” She asked without looking up.

“Since I’m not Jasper or you apparently, can you tell me what you are feeling?”

“Oh.” Did she want to tell him? It would only be fair since she knew how he was feeling. “Umm, well, I think the biggest thing I have felt is shock and I am still a bit shocked that you are here still. I’m not sure how I feel about what happened with the family after everyone left Forks, but I am glad that you and Jasper have each other. I would be sad if you two were left alone and it was all because of me.”

“Isabella, piccola, that is nothing you need to worry about. Looking back I honestly believe that the family was destined to split apart with or without you in our lives. Do not feel bad for something that you had no control over.” He lifted his hand but let it drop back down to his lap. “Is that all you are feeling?”

Bella peeked at him through her hair. “You speak Italian?”

Carlisle quirked an eyebrow. “You knew that was Italian?”

“Yes, Charlie wanted me to learn a language and that one just called to me. So I have been taking those courses over the past five years, I even took some Latin as I thought that it might help with my desired career choice.” She blushed as she was nowhere near comfortable with this conversation. She made a choice to finish this conversation and answer his question the only way she knew how, so she cheated. “Ego perdidi te volo admittere nisi. Cum dolet sinistram reprobaverunt me. Ut non derelinquat me.” (I have missed you, more than I want to admit. It hurt when you left, when you rejected me. Please don’t leave me again.)

Leaning against the back of the bench, he took in what she said. He knew that she hoped that he didn’t speak Latin, but he had lived for a very long time and that made room for learning a lot of languages. Turning, he reached for her hand and smiled when she didn’t pull away from his touch. “La mia bella donna, ti prometto che non ti lascerò finché non mi dici a.” (My beautiful woman, I promise I will not leave you until you tell me to.”

Her eyes darted to his and the shock was evident on her face. She wasn’t sure that she had heard him correctly. Did he just say that he would stay until she told him to go away? Could he really mean that? 

“Yes, mia bella donna, I meant every word of what I said.” Carlisle chuckled as she realized that she had asked those questions out loud. “I have not been able to stop thinking about you since we left you in Forks. You have no idea how hard it has been for me to abide by your request for us to leave you alone. Every time that I watched over you with jasper, he had to keep me from going to you. I have never before felt so compelled to be around someone in my life. I’m done fighting it.”

Bella could only stare at him in shock. He wasn’t going anywhere and he was done fighting the pull? That sounded like…but no, that couldn’t be what he meant. Could it? “I’m not sure how to respond to that, Carlisle.”

“You don’t need to say anything.” Carlisle whispered as he reached up to place a hand on the back of her neck as he leaned in closer to her. He stopped right before his lips touched hers, his eyes searching hers for permission.

Bella looked into the dark golden eyes asking to be allowed to kiss her and her heart melted. Without a second thought, she closed the distance and lightly touched her lips to his. The feeling of his cold marble lips pressed against her soft warm lips sent chills down her spine. She felt his tongue dart out of his mouth and trace along her bottom lip, causing her to gasp in surprise.

Carlisle seized the opportunity, darting his tongue into her warm mouth, exploring as their tongues danced. She moaned into the kiss and turned more fully to him so she could wrap her arms around his neck. Taking the initiative, Carlisle pulled her into his lap as he pulled his lips from hers to kiss along her jaw. “Breathe, Isabella.”

Trying to regain control over her breathing, she tilted her head to the side as he kissed his way to her ear, gently nipping at her earlobe. Gently pushing on his chest, she leaned back. “Carlisle?”

He tried to fight off the feeling of rejection as he searched her face. “Yes?”

“Don’t ever leave me again.”

To be continued….


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 –

_“Don’t ever leave me again.”_

Bella awoke slowly, trying to remember why there was something lying across her waist and why her cheek was so cold. With a gasp, she remembered everything that happened last night. Lifting her head, she was met by the smiling ochre eyes of Carlisle. As she smiled at the God like man next to her, she rested her head back down on his chest, her hand resting where his dead heart lay.

Sensing her need to think, Carlisle laid there, enjoying the feel of her warmth as he held her to him. Never before had he felt such contentment, such peace. He knew that he could never leave her, he told her as much yesterday. After they returned to the hotel, he had gone to his room to check for messages as well as confirm his schedule for the rest of the convention. He also had wanted to give her some space as he knew that she needed time to process everything that had happened that day. 

Bella laid surrounded by the comforting cold of Carlisle’s embrace and wondered how her life had changed so drastically in the span of twenty four hours. Over the past seven years she never once dared to dream that she would find anyone to be with let alone finding that one to be any of the Cullens. She kept remembering Carlisle’s words when she told him to never leave her again, he had responded with ‘Never, my love’ and it was like her whole world had shifted right in front of her eyes. All she could think about was Carlisle and how she should have recognized these feelings all those years ago.

After she had recovered from his promise, they had sat on the bench talking about small things. They were content to sit there until they were reminded that Bella still needed to eat. She had been saddened when Carlisle told her he was going back to his room to check on a few things and to give her human time. As if he could sense her sadness, he had pulled her into his arms and kissed her, telling her to call for him when she was ready and he would be over before she could blink.

They were both so lost in thought that when Bella’s alarm went off even Carlisle jumped.

Bella sat up and looked at Carlisle, shock apparent on her face. “You jumped.”

He looked at her with laughter in his eyes. “Even we can be startled if we are deep in thought, mia amore.”

Bella blushed at his term of endearment and allowed him to pull her back into his arms. “I just never thought I would see anything that could surprise a vampire.”

“Oh my silly girl, only Alice could never be surprised. The rest of us mere normal vampires are still subjected to the lack of future sight so surprises do occur.”

She looked up to see him laughing silently and she playfully swatted at his chest, light enough to not cause herself harm. “Don’t mock me, Carlisle, I may be a lowly mortal but I can still hold my own against you.”

“Oh really.” Carlisle smirked at her, laughter shining in his ochre eyes. “Pray tell me how you, a lowly mortal as you called it, can hold your own against a vampire such as myself.”

Bella smiled as she pulled herself up to straddle his hips. She felt empowered by the knowledge that this man, this God, beneath her was affected by her. Smiling still, she rocked her hips back and felt his arousal grow beneath her. “I believe that all I have to do is use my womanly wiles and you will be putty in my hands.”

Carlisle closed his eyes as he moaned. All they had done last night was kiss as he didn’t want to rush her into anything. But the buildup of all of that kissing and then her sleeping form draped over his body all night was causing him to want to behave very ungentlemanly and he needed to regain control of the situation. Reaching up, he intended to grip her hips to stop her movements, instead he found himself helping her to grind against his arousal. Thrusting up instinctively he growled as he felt the heat of her core through their clothes.

A moan escaped her lips as she felt him thrust against her core again. She had never felt anything like this before and she didn’t want it to end. But in the back of her mind, Bella knew that she wasn’t ready for a physical relationship no matter how good this felt, so she tried to wrangle in her senses. Fighting a losing battle within herself, she leaned down and was about an inch from her goal when her alarm went off again, startling her upright with a groan.

Carlisle moaned as the movement caused her to rock against his arousal again. Closing his eyes, he tried to ignore the feeling of her straddling him and their current location. “I take it that you have an early meeting this morning and that’s why the alarm keeps sounding?”

Bella looked down at Carlisle, secretly happy over his reactions to her, but also upset at how uncomfortable he looked. She made a move to get off of the bed and leave him in peace when his hands tightened on her hips, keeping her where she was. “Yes, I wanted to give myself time for a shower and breakfast before I had to go listen to this morning’s speaker.”

Suddenly, Bella found herself on her back looking up into Carlisle’s lust darkened eyes as he ground his arousal against her core. “So did you give yourself enough time for a few more pleasurable moments before we go back out into the real world?”

Shock flowed through her system as his words registered, causing a wetness to pool between her legs at the thought. “Carlisle, I…I don’t think…”

“I know.” He kissed her lightly on her lips. “I was not suggesting that. When we get to that point I do not want to be rushed. I was just wondering if we had time so I could make you feel good.”

She looked at the smirk on his face and knew exactly what he was wanting to do; well she had an idea at least. All rational thought flew out the door as she looked at the God above her, wanting to love her. “I’m…well…yes I suppose there’s time…but, I…Carlisle, I’m…oh hell, I’ve never done…” Completely lost for words she gestured to their current position.

Understanding flashed across his face. “Oh my sweetheart, as a man that makes me very happy to hear. I promise I will be gentle and you will enjoy every minute of it.”

Bella gasped as Carlisle thrust against her again, only this time it was slow and hard like he was trying to drag out the pleasure. Never having experienced these feelings before, she was a little scared of what he was doing to her, but she knew that anything he did she would love. Reaching up, she clung to his shoulders as she instinctually raised her hips to meet his next thrust. A moan escaped her lips before they were captured in a searing kiss.

As Carlisle deepened the kiss, his tongue battling hers for dominance, he trailed his hands up her sides, taking her tank top with them. Lightly running his fingers over her stomach, he relished in the moan he heard muffled by their kiss. Pulling back, he looked down into her eyes as he pulled the shirt up over her head and tossed it to the floor. He smiled as the blush started to heat up her cheeks. “You are more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, Isabella. Let me love you?”

Bella looked up into his eyes, almost black with his desire, and she couldn’t say no. Nodding, she watched as he quickly pulled off his shirt before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her swollen lips. She sighed as he began to trail open mouthed kisses along her jaws and down her neck, pausing to suck lightly over her beating pulse point. He moved on to her collar bone bringing forth yet another moan.

Carlisle smiled as he felt her hands rest on his shoulders, the warmth of her searing his skin and spreading out the longer she held onto him. He relished in the feeling of her warm soft skin against his cold marble skin. He knew that he wouldn’t hurt her, it wasn’t in his nature to hurt anyone, but truly with her he wouldn’t be able to even if he tried. He understood that when he decided to approach her as he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of her at that point.

Moving further down her skin, he kissed a path between her breasts and then along her ribs, just under her right breast. Carlisle continued his path so that he kissed his way up along her side so that he could make his way to his first destination. Slowly, he kissed his way to her nipple before sucking it into his mouth. Her gasp was all the encouragement that he needed. Lightly biting down on the now taut peak, he hummed in appreciation.

“Oh Carlisle.” Bella moaned as her back arched, offering herself up to his mouth. As he continued to alternate between nibbling and sucking, she ran her hands up and down his back, tracing the lines of muscles as they moved under his skin. Another moan escaped her as his right hand came up and cupped her other breast, making sure that it was not left out of the pleasurable attention.

Carlisle had never allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to be able to kiss Bella and to taste her sweet skin. After just this small taste, he fully believed that he could very easily become addicted to this woman beneath him. Switching his attention to her other breast, he gently bit down on her nipple and hummed as she moaned in pleasure. He was amazed by the reactions that his touch was causing. If he was being honest, he was just amazed that he had never actually seen her as a woman before; she had always been Bella, the teenager. This woman beneath him, writhing from the pleasure he was giving her, was anything but a teenager.

Slowly, he kissed his way back up to her lips. Gently sucking her bottom lip into his mouth, he took advantage of her gasp and swept his tongue into her mouth. Tasting her, he moaned as he felt her hands move from his shoulders into his hair. He had only been with one other woman, Esme, and she had never reacted this way to his touch. He reveled in her touch, her reactions to him. Carlisle was already addicted to smell and the feel of her skin against his own. He knew that if he followed through with his plans, there would be no turning back for him. She would own every piece of him. Just the thought made him growl in pleasure.

Pulling back from the kiss, he smiled as he saw her kiss swollen lips turn up at the corners. Meeting her eyes, he couldn’t help but laugh softly. “This look suits you, my dear.”

“And what look is that, Carlisle?” Bella responded in a breathy whisper.

“It’s the look of a woman being pleasured by her man.” Carlisle bent his head to trail kisses down her jaw to her neck, stopping over her pulse point again. “I think it suits you so much that I may have to spend the rest of my life making sure that you keep this look about you.”

Bella giggled. “I never knew this side of you existed.”

He slowly trailed kisses down the center of her chest to stop at her navel. Looking up, he grinned at her. “As bad as it sounds, I’m not sure how you would have taken this side of me when you thought of me as a father figure.”

Bella grimaced at that thought. “I have a confession to make.”

Looking at her, he watched as a blush crept over her cheeks. Raising an eyebrow at her, he waited for her to make this confession as he teasingly played with the top of her pajama pants.

“I…umm…back then, I never thought of you that way.” Her blush deepened. “Yes, I thought of you as the father to the family, but I always just saw you as a man.”

“Well that is something. I guess I should have done this much sooner then.” He pulled down her pants, exposing the cute little cotton boy shorts she was wearing. Looking up at her, he grinned before leaning down to gently bite on her hip bone. Hearing her gasp, he quickly divested her of her pants. Taking in the sight before him, he growled low in his chest. “So beautiful.”

“You make me feel beautiful.” She whispered.

“Let’s see what else I can make you feel.” Carlisle moaned as he ran his hands up both of her legs, coming to a stop with his hands on her hips, fingers splayed out. She shifted under his touch as his hands had stopped with his thumbs just inches from where she really needed to be touched. “Do you want me to touch you, my love?”

“Yes.” Bella groaned as his hands stayed right where they were. “Please.”

“As you wish.” Curling his fingers he pulled his hands back down her legs taking her boy shorts with them. Soon, he was looking at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and she was laying there waiting for him, no, needing him to touch her, wanting the pleasure that he could give to her. Starting at her ankles, he lightly trailed his fingers up her legs until he reached her hips. Pulling his hands back down; he moved his hands slowly to the inside of her thighs and slowly pushed them apart. A low growl escaped him as he looked upon Bella in all of her natural beauty. 

Bella looked at him through lust filled eyes and moaned as he knelt between her legs. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she moaned as she felt his cool breath on her overheated skin. His head lowered further and she gasped as he nuzzled her with his nose. “Please.”

Carlisle looked up at her. Moving his hands up, he spread her before him so that he could lick her from her opening to her bundle of nerves. “Please what?”

She fisted her hands in the sheets as he brushed her with his tongue again. “Don’t stop.”

“As you wish.” Carlisle whispered as he kissed her bundle of nerves before softly sucking it into his mouth. Her moan spurred on his actions as he slowly entered her with his finger. A groan escaped him as he felt the heat surround his finger. All he could think of was what it would feel like to fully bury himself in her heat. He knew that it wouldn’t be happening today so he put all of his focus on giving the woman before him as much pleasure as he could and by doing so, he hoped to show her through his actions what his words have not conveyed.

Bella was lost to the pleasure that Carlisle was assaulting her body with. Clenching her fists in the sheets, she writhed on the bed, trying to get closer to him and the pleasure he was giving her. She groaned when she felt him place his hand on her stomach holding her down on the bed. Having never experienced this kind of feeling before had her feeling a little bit scared of what he was doing to her, the control he seemed to have over her body. She could feel something building, a tightening in her stomach and the fear of losing control started to take away from the pleasure.

Sensing her unease, Carlisle leaned up so he could meet her eyes. “Sweetheart, relax and let go. I promise I won’t let anything hurt you. Trust me.”

Bella searched his eyes and seemed to have found what she was looking for. Reaching down she placed her hand on his cheek before sliding it up into his hand. With a smile she pulled his head back down to where it had been.

With a growl of approval, Carlisle eagerly dove back in to greedily provide pleasure to the woman before him. He was so proud of her for trusting him with something that was unsettling to her. Gently he brought his mouth down to her clit as he began to work his finger inside her. Moving slowly he listened intently to the sighs and whimpers that started to escape her parted lips. Adding another finger, he groaned as her walls clamped down on him, again wishing that he was buried in her. 

He continued to lick and suck on her bundle of nerves as he slowly thrust his fingers in and out of her. Looking up only when he heard a loud moan, he focused solely on the pleasure he was giving her. As she started thrusting her hips to meet his hand, he started to move faster as he added in a third finger. Sensing that she was close, he started curling his fingers up towards the one spot he knew would send her over the edge. Knowing she was close, he moved his tongue and fingers faster with a little more force, but not enough to hurt her.

Bella threw her head back into the pillow with her eyes closed and tangled her hands in Carlisle’s hair as if to hold herself to the bed. The feelings he was causing made her feel like she was about to soar away on a wave of pleasure. Just as she thought she couldn’t take any more, he gently bit down on her clit sending her over the edge screaming his name as she experienced her first orgasm.

Carlisle grinned as he lapped up all of her juices as she came down from her high. He knew that she had never experienced that before and he couldn’t explain how it made him feel to know that he had been the one to give her that kind of pleasure. Slowly climbing her body, he propped himself on his arms as he moved her hair off of her sweaty face.

“Are you alright, my love?”

Bella slowly opened her eyes and sighed. “I never knew it would feel like that. Carlisle, that was…well, amazing doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

He chuckled as he placed a kiss on her forehead. “It only gets better from here. If you will let me I will gladly spend the rest of my life showing you all of the pleasures your body and heart can desire.”

She smiled at him and pulled him down so his cold skin was against her overheated skin. With a sigh she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, just as her alarm went off again.

Carlisle groaned as he pulled back from the kiss. “I suppose you have to actually get up and get around for the morning seminar now?”

With a quick glance at the clock, Bella groaned as well. “I’m afraid the answer is yes. I now have just enough time to get ready and grab a coffee before it starts.”

He rolled off of her to lie on his side, watching her intently as she rose from the bed and gathered her clothes for the day. “I will be the speaker for the afternoon seminar. Some of the other doctors that are here wanted to have a meeting this morning, but I may be able to sneak away if you would like to have lunch.”

As she walked to the bathroom, she thought about it. “I have a paper that I need to start writing about this weekend so lunch with me will be rather boring. I will meet up with you after the final seminar if that is alright.”

Sitting up he smiled at her, always thinking of others before herself. “Of course, my dear. We will talk then about how you want things to progress from here. I will say that if you choose to explore this relationship with me, I will gladly relocate to Houston to be closer to you as well as Jasper. I would enjoy being with the only two who still consider me family.”

Dropping her clothes, she ran to the bed, throwing herself into his arms. “Oh Carlisle. I am so sorry that your family broke apart. I know Jasper would love to have you closer as I could always tell that he truly respected you. You don’t need to move on my account, but maybe for Jasper.”

Burying his face in her hair, he breathed in her warm freesia scent and sighed. “Thank you, but it is not your fault, my love. We will talk about this later this afternoon. You need to go get ready and I suppose I need to as well.”

Extracting herself from his arms, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips before darting into the bathroom. Poking her head out, she blew him a kiss. “I’ll see you later, Carlisle.”

Shaking his head at her antics, he let himself out of her room as he heard the shower turn on. Suddenly, life seemed to be a brighter thing to live, not something dark to endure.

_To be continued…._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 –

_Shaking his head at her antics, he let himself out of her room as he heard the shower turn on. Suddenly, life seemed to be a brighter thing to live, not something dark to endure._

Bella placed her hair in a messy bun and took a quick shower. Within ten minutes she was ready to walk out the door and go listen to the next speaker until lunch. After everything that had happened with Carlisle, she was only able to partially focus on her surroundings. With the morning stuck on repeat in her head, she was surprised to find herself sitting at a table with a bagel and a coffee, not remembering how she actually got there. Sighing, she turned on her tablet and prepared for the lecture that was about to start.

Lunch dismissal found her without any notes on the lecture and lost in her own thoughts. She gathered her things and made it back to her room in a complete fog. The bliss that she had experienced earlier in the morning had dissipated into confusion and insecurity. How could she have let Carlisle kiss her like that? How did she end up in bed with him? Let him do those things to her body? Let him see her naked? These questions kept cycling through her head as she tried to start on her paper as she had told Carlisle she was doing over lunch.

Two hours later found her still at the beginning of the paper and more worries floating through her mind. She decided that space was what she needed, space to think through everything they had talked about and to think over everything she let him do to her, she needed to figure out how she felt about it. With that decision in mind, it took her all of ten minutes to pack her bag and be ready to check out of the hotel. A quick call to the airline had her flight moved up and the panic that had been taunting her started to back off just a little. Then she realized that she would have to talk to Carlisle before she left, she couldn’t just run out on him as that was not what she was doing. He was still in his afternoon lecture so she would have to wait for him to finish if she wanted to talk to him. Not wanting to wait, she went to the desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Sitting down, she began to write.

_Dear Carlisle,_

_I have no words to express how much it meant to me that you found me and have been keeping me safe over the years, you and Jasper. I just can’t wrap my head around everything that we talked about. I mean, it feels like just yesterday you and everyone else were telling me how I was mated to Edward. I know now that wasn’t true, yes I loved him, but with the mind and heart of a young girl. It wasn’t healthy and I know that now. But then you tell me that we are mates and yes, I can feel the pull to you, like I have to be near you all the time. Even sitting here in my room I feel the need to come downstairs just to be in the same room with you. This is all so damn confusing to me._

_I need to think and I’m sorry, but I just can’t do that around you. I need my space because if you are there, then I know I may just fall in line and revert back to who I was with Edward and I’m not her anymore. I refuse to be a door mat again. I know that isn’t what you want, but I fear that it will happen anyway. The feelings that you have awakened in me in the last twenty four hours are amazing and terrifying all at the same time. I can tell you that what I felt for Edward holds no comparison to you._

_Carlisle, please believe that I am not running away from you, but seeking space. I’m not trying to hurt you either as that is the very last thing I want to do. I’m going home, to finish my classes and to think. I promise not to make you wait too long, but I understand if you don’t want to wait for me. That is not something that I feel like I can truly ask of you. Don’t put your life on hold for me. Go back to work and check in on Jasper. Try reaching out to Emmett and Rosalie. If you do, tell Emmett that I miss my big brother._

_I know I asked you to never leave me and that is what it seems like I am doing to you. It hurts me to think that you will think that way. I promise I am not leaving you or whatever we have. I just need time to think. Please do not doubt me. As long as you want us to, we will see each other again soon._

_I Promise!_

_With all my heart,_

_Isabella_

Bella looked at the finished letter and noticed a few wet spots on the paper. With a gasp she reached up to her cheeks and noticed that she was crying. She knew that what she was doing was right for her at the time, but she couldn’t deny the amount of pain she was feeling knowing that she was running away from Carlisle, even if only temporarily. With a groan, she folded the paper and sealed it away in an envelope with Carlisle’s name written on the front. 

She quickly gathered her bags and left the room. Stopping in front of Carlisle’s door, she placed a kiss on the envelope before sliding it under the door. Stifling a sob, she ran to the elevator and managed to make it down to the check-out counter without giving into her pain. Checking out was quick and painless as Carlisle had paid for her room, so all she really had to do was hand in her room key. Stumbling to her rental, she made her way to the airport on auto pilot. Thirty minutes later found her checked in for her flight and seated on the plane. As the plane took off it felt like her heart was going to explode right out of her chest.

Looking out the window, she watched as Seattle drifted away beneath the clouds. The flight was uneventful as she spent most of it focusing on everything she needed to do when she returned to her apartment. The flight landed on time, she retrieved her car from the lot and made it home without any issues, even managed to keep from crying most of the way home. 

The next week was a bit of chaos with having to complete her final papers for her classes, suffering through the final exams so she could be awarded her degree and take on the title of doctor. Just the thought of being a doctor always brought her back to thoughts of Carlisle. She had done her best to keep him out of her thoughts so that she could focus during her last week of school and yet each night as she laid in bed, all she could picture was the heart broken look that had to have taken over his face as he read her letter. There were a few times that she had thought of calling out to Jasper as she left the library, but she always shied away from it. She knew she wasn’t ready yet to confront either of her guardian angels.

The first week of freedom from learning, found her right back at the library. Her professor had suggested a few books that she would benefit from reading before she started her residency. It didn’t take her long to find the books and she was anxious to get started so she found a chair tucked away in a corner and dove right into a book detailing the politics of working in an E.R. It was a fascinating read and she quite literally lost herself in the book. 

Bella jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw that it was the librarian.

The librarian smiled in apology at startling Bella. “Dear, the library is going to be closing soon. If you are wanting to check out those books, I suggest you do so now before we turn off the systems.”

“Yes, of course, thank you.” Bella murmured as she started to collect her things. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she grimaced at finding that it was almost ten o’clock. As she walked to the front of the library, she thought of who would be watching out for her as she walked home. Putting her books in her bag, she walked out of the library and stopped at the top of the stairs. Looking around, she had hoped that one of her boys might actually show himself. With a sigh, she made it back to her apartment safely.

The next month passed by rather quickly. She applied for her residence and spent most of her free time thinking about what happened with Carlisle back in Seattle. It still broke her heart to think that she had just left Carlisle there and may have actually ruined any chances she had with him. There were many times that she went to pick up her phone to call him, only to realize that she never asked him for his phone number. Each time she would scream at her idiocy and then the tears would come. As the time passed and he never reached out to her, she really did start to believe that they had both left her.

One night found Bella feeling so restless she decided to go for a walk. Not normally something that she did, especially when it was well passed eleven. This was one of those times that she studiously ignored the warnings her brain was sending her as she grabbed her coat and keys, heading outside to sort through her thoughts. She had been walking for about thirty minutes when a thought occurred to her. Although she had to admit that it most likely wouldn’t work as this walk was not part of her normal schedule. Deciding there was only one way to find out, she stopped walking.

“Jasper, I know you’re out there somewhere.” She called out as she turned in a circle, looking for any sign of movement. “You don’t have to hide from me.”

“Well, darlin’,” came a voice from behind her, “I never really thought of it as hiding.”

With a gasp, Bella turned around and couldn’t stop the smile from taking over her face as she looked upon the beautiful face of Jasper. She was so happy to see him that she threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Feeling him tense under her, she started to pull away from him but was stopped as he pulled her back into the hug.

“I am so sorry, Bella.” He whispered into her hair. “I never meant to attack you back then.”

“None sense, Jasper.” She leaned back to look him in his amber eyes. “I never blamed you for what happened. Edward was over protective of me and he is what caused the supposed attack. I personally think you did rather well holding back while dealing with everyone else’s bloodlust as well as your own.”

He chuckled. “Again, little human, you astonish me with your reactions to us.”

“Well, I do pride myself on being unpredictable.” She laughed as he shook his head at her.

Moving so that he had his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist, he started walking them back towards her apartment. “Care to tell me why you are braving the dark, dangerous night?”

She sighed, this was the part she was dreading while reconnecting with him. “I needed to think and I was just too restless at home. I felt trapped, so I left.”

Sensing her turbulent emotions, he guided them to a bench in a park they were walking through. Sitting down, he turned to face her. “You can talk to me, you know. I may not be that great with humans, but I do understand emotions quite well and yours all over the place.”

Bella couldn’t stop the chuckle from escaping her lips. “Emotions, right. Well, mine have been like this since I returned from Seattle. I’m not sure they settle down ever, not even in my sleep.”

“I can tell you that they don’t.” At her quirked eyebrow, he held his hands up. “Don’t look at me like that. All I’ve been doing is keeping an eye on you and there have been times that your emotions have been so strong they nearly knocked me over. I didn’t like seeing you like that, but I knew better than to influence your emotions and I expected you to be mad at me so I never approached you.”

“Well, aren’t we both just a mess. I’ve been debating on calling out to you as I figured you would be mad at me.” She ducked her head, hiding behind her hair.

“Bella, I’m not mad at you. Confused, but not mad.” He saw her shoulders slump. “It is not my place to interfere in whatever is going on between you two. I will tell you that I have talked to Carlisle quite a bit since you returned. I won’t go into detail about what he’s said, but he did want me to tell you that if you truly want him to, he will wait for you as long as you need him to.”

Her head jerked up as she stared at him incredulously. “Why? I…why is he willing to wait for me? I thought he would have been furious with me for leaving like I did. I mean, I ran from him. I told him I would be there and then I got scared and ran. I just don’t understand.”

“Bella, I hope you don’t mind, but Carlisle told me what you went through after we left. I’m sure he told you about why we left. None of us wanted to, but Edward told us that it was what you wanted. I can only imagine what you went through and Carlisle experienced it somewhat as you told him what actually happened. We both understand your need for space and time to come to terms with what is going on.”

“Jasper, I don’t know what to do.” Bella leaned back on the bench and looked up at the stars. “I have always felt a connection with Carlisle, then you all left. Next, many years later, I run into him and he tells me that we are mates. How am I supposed to handle it this time? I just fell in line with everyone telling me that about Edward and look where that got me. What I feel for him is so much stronger than the childish love I thought I felt for Edward. I wouldn’t survive if I let Carlisle in only to have him leave me for the next distraction.”

“I could kill Edward right about now. I don’t know what happened to make him act like such an ass with you, but I can promise that what you have with Carlisle is real. I have felt his emotions for you since you were first introduced to the family and then again over the years here as he helped me keep an eye on you. Bella, look at me.” He waited until she turned her eyes to him. “Is this why you haven’t called him?”

She grimaced. “Partly, yeah. I was afraid that he would just turn me away because of how I ran away from him. But that’s not the only reason. There was one time that I thought about calling him, I missed him so much it hurt, but then I realized I never got his phone number. I had no way to call him. When weeks had passed and I didn’t hear from him, I just thought that was Carlisle letting me know he wasn’t going to wait for me.”

“Oh my silly human.”

Bella jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned on the bench so quickly that if Jasper wouldn’t have grabbed her she would have fallen completely off the bench. “Carlisle?”

_To be continued…._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 –

_“Oh my silly girl.”_

_Bella jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned on the bench so quickly that if Jasper wouldn’t have grabbed her she would have fallen completely off the bench. “Carlisle?”_

Jasper held onto Bella as he felt her start to shake. He felt bad as he had known that Carlisle was there, listening as he wasn’t sure what was going on. Jasper knew that he had to be there for Bella, he couldn’t explain why, but he went with the pull and was glad as she clung to him as she stared at Carlisle.

“Isabella.” Carlisle whispered as he moved to kneel before her. He looked up at Jasper over her shoulder and smiled. “I have to say that I am glad that you and Jasper are reconnecting. When I got your letter, I had hoped that you would at least talk to him as I knew he would be able to help you when I could not.”

Bella sat there, still in Jasper’s arms, almost in his lap and stared at Carlisle. She couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around the fact that Carlisle was really there, he had come for her. Still shaking she leaned back against Jasper, accepting the comfort he was offering her.

Carlisle watched as Bella came to terms with his being there. He saw how Jasper reacted to her distress by tightening his arms around her. They shared a look over her head and Carlisle understood that they still had a lot to discuss with Bella. “Isabella, you are shaking my dear, are you alright?”

Bella felt a calm sweep through her as Jasper worked his magic. Turning she leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek in thanks. Turning back to Carlisle, she drew a deep breath before she addressed Carlisle. “I haven’t been alright. I…I have sat and thought. I have wanted to reach out to you for so long, but I didn’t know how. As the time went on, I thought you had decided not to wait for me. I knew you could find me here. You did tell me all about how you helped Jasper keep an eye on me. I thought that you had changed your mind and that thought made me finally reach out to Jasper. I…”

Carlisle reached forward at the same time that Jasper tightened his arms around her. “Bella, my love, I told you back at the hotel that you are my mate. There is no other woman for me. I knew it would be a lot for you to take in and I knew you would need to think through everything on your own. I was waiting for you to be ready and I knew you would reach out to Jasper to get to me. You did that and here I am.”

Bella sat there, almost sandwiched between Jasper and Carlisle and finally took note of her surroundings. “I have a quick question.”

“Ask us anything, darlin’.” Jasper responded from behind her.

Bella smiled at the endearment. Taking a shaky breath she asked, “If you say that I am your mate, Carlisle, why are you so at ease with me being in Jasper’s lap and someone tell me why for the love of God does it feel so right?”

Jasper chuckled as he stood up, still holding Bella in his arms just now on her feet. Carlisle stood as well, stepping forward to place his hands on her hips as he answered her questions. “I did not lie when I told you that you are my mate, I promise. As for Jasper, I believe maybe we should move to a more comfortable setting for this conversation.”

Bella looked up into Carlisle’s amber eyes and saw the love in his eyes. “We can go to my apartment if you want. We aren’t that far from it.”

Carlisle nodded and pulled her out of Jasper’s arms and tucked her into his side. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder he turned her in the direction of her apartment.

Bella leaned into his side as she wrapped her arm around his waist. She felt almost complete again and never wanted to let him go. She gasped as she felt Jasper step up next to her and take her hand in his. Confused, she looked down at their joined hands and then up into his golden eyes. He just smiled and continued walking. She couldn’t understand it, but she liked the feeling of being close to Jasper as well as Carlisle and that just made her more confused about the whole situation.

Ten minutes later found them sitting in Bella’s living room. She had grabbed a beer from her fridge and was sitting in her lone arm chair while Carlisle and Jasper sat on the couch. Taking a sip of her beer, she looked from one man to the next, trying to understand what was going on. She already knew Carlisle’s story and she knew some of Jasper’s, but nothing she had learned explained what was currently going on. Leaning back in her chair, she finally broke the silence. “Explain.”

Carlisle sighed as he knew this was going to be hard for her to understand. “Everything that I told you at the hotel is true, my dear. I just didn’t tell you everything.”

Bella snorted. “Well, that makes me feel all better. Is there a reason that you left stuff out?”

“I…” Carlisle started but was interrupted by Jasper.

“Bella, don’t be mad at Carlisle. We had talked about all of this before he went to the convention and we agreed that there were some things best explained to you by both of us.” Jasper moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the coffee table just in front of her. “I asked him to wait to see what your reaction to me being here was and then we could tell you everything.”

She shook her head trying to clear the confusion. “I don’t understand, Jasper. It’s not like I would never forgive you as there was truly nothing to forgive. You were all my family and I had always hoped that you still would be some day. Now, it’s like you two have some major secret and it’s starting to scare me. If I didn’t believe that Carlisle was being truthful about us being mates, I would almost start to think that he was planning to dump me for you.”

“My dear, I promise that I shall not be leaving you for him.” Carlisle finally managed to get out. “It is nothing like that, I promise you. I have no connection to Jasper other than in a familial way.”

Jasper saw and felt her confusion turn into a slow burning anger. “Why are you angry, darlin’?”

“Why am I angry?” Bella growled as she stood up to start pacing the room. “Well, let’s see. I run into Carlisle, find out he is my true mate not Edward, he also tells me that you both have been keeping an eye on me to keep me out of danger. I allow myself to believe everything and get close to Carlisle just to scare myself away. I runaway just to realize I was being stupid. Now I have you both here which should be comforting, but it’s just driving me crazy. You both are hinting at something, but won’t come out and say it and that makes me wonder what I should and should not be believing.”

They both stood up and stepped in front of Bella to stop her pacing. Carlisle reached out and cupped her cheek and smiled as she leaned into his touch. “My love, we are not trying to hurt you. What we have to tell you is nothing as major as you are making it out to be. It is important, yes, but we aren’t hiding anything from you. I can’t lose you again.”

Bella reached up and ran her fingers over Carlisle’s cheek. “Silly vampire, I thought it was I who told you not to leave me.”

“Apparently I missed out on an interesting conversation.” Jasper chucked. “I have to agree with him though, darlin’. I can sense your wariness and I just don’t want to lose you again. Not when it would be my fault all over again.”

Bella groaned as she moved from Carlisle to face Jasper. Reaching up she placed both her hands on his shoulders and forced him to turn so he had to look at her. “Now you listen to me, Jasper Hale. You were NOT the reason that Edward left me and right now I can’t come up with anything that would make me run from you. I knew back then that you wouldn’t hurt me and I still know it today. You are family and I don’t abandon my family.”

“Whitlock.”

“Huh?” Bella looked at him in confusion.

“I went back to using my actual last name.” Jasper responded. “Jasper Whitlock sounds better.”

Bella looked at him and ran that through her mind. “Jasper Whitlock. Much better, suits you. Now then, Mr. Whitlock, you are family and I don’t abandon my family for any reason.”

Jasper just stood there and stared into her eyes as he tasted her emotions. He couldn’t keep the small smile from his face as he felt her love for both him and Carlisle. That gave him the hope that he needed to answer her earlier question. Placing his hands over hers and pulling them down to hold between them, he took a deep breath before speaking. “As Carlisle said, what I have to tell you is nothing major in relation to you. But I think I need to explain a bit first. Carlisle wasn’t the only one who had thought he had found his mate, but was wrong. Alice was never my mate as Esme was never his.”

Bella looked at Jasper, not understanding what he was trying to say. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again as nothing came out. She was standing too close to him and yet she felt like it was where she belonged, almost like when she allowed herself to get close to Carlisle, but it wasn’t the same. Looking over, she locked eyes with Carlisle and saw worry where she expected to see anger at another man touching her. 

“Isabella.” Carlisle moved to stand behind her, pulling her back just enough for her to lean against his chest and so he could rest his chin on her head. “I told you only one reason as to why Jasper kept an eye on you all these years. What I didn’t tell you is that he did it also because he felt the similar pull to you as I do. It is rare for our kind, but if you’ll have us we are both yours.”

“Wait…what does that…” She stopped as she saw the same look in Jasper’s eyes that she saw in Carlisle’s before. “You mean that…you two…oh boy…you both are my…”

Jasper could see that she was struggling with her thoughts and going based off of what he was feeling from her, he decided to help her out. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss against on her forehead and leaned back just enough to look her in the eyes, smiling even though he didn’t want her to think he was laughing at her. “Not quite what you were thinking, Bella. You have Carlisle as your only mate. Yes, I have a pull to you myself, which is rare as it’s not a pull of a mate. I see you more as my sister, which isn’t the rare part. It’s that I feel like we are bonded siblings. I know of only one other such bond and they were actual twins before they were changed.”

“Oh my.” She whispered as she pulled her hands back from him and raised one hand to run her fingers through her hair. “I…oh hell…I am a freak as a human and now a freak as…well still a human, but…ugh!”

Carlisle laughed. “It’s good to see he gets the same reaction from you that I do, mia piccola. It may be rare, but by no means does it make you a freak. It just means that if you accept us as we are, which we will not force you, then you will be the most loved girl in existence.”

“I’m not quite sure what to say to that.” Bella turned so she could look back at Carlisle over her shoulder. “So this is why you have no problems with me being close to Jasper? Because he is…oh my…Jasper is my brother?”

“My dear, I promise you, if another male were to get anywhere near you, my possessive side would make itself known.” Carlisle chuckled darkly as he pulled her into his arms. “I will not lie and say that it doesn’t bother me at all that Jasper can be that close to you, but I know that he isn’t trying to take you from me. I can accept that.”

Bella closed her eyes as she leaned her head against his chest. “This is so confusing.”

“Bella, you have all the time you need to accept this or not. We will both do whatever we can to help you. Right Jasper?”

“Of course. Darlin’, you do what you need to and tell us what you need from us.” Jasper answered as he stepped back and gave Bella the space she needed.

“Ok, well then, just go with it and I guess this could be a little test to see how this is going to work.” With that, Bella turned to face Carlisle as she reached up with her hands to pull his mouth down to hers. It started as just a gentle kiss until Bella bit on Carlisle’s bottom lip to give her access. He growled low in his throat as he wrapped his arms around her and allowed her tongue to explore his mouth. She moaned as his tongue brushed against hers as they battled for dominance. She pulled back only when she needed air, but stared into his eyes with a dazed look that was met by his lust filled eyes. 

“Yep,” she popped the p, “just like I remembered it. Ok, onto test number two.” Bella turned so that she was facing Jasper and stepped away from Carlisle. Looking into Jasper’s eyes, she felt herself being pulled towards him. As she focused on the feeling of the pull, she was able to notice the differences between how she felt for Carlisle and how she felt for Jasper. Stepping closer, she reached up and placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled as she felt him lean into her touch. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she leaned into him and placed her head on his chest. Hearing no sounds from behind her, she moved her hands from his shoulders so she could pull him into a hug.

Jasper couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him as her warm arms wrapped around him. The last time he had felt this warmth, this kind of connection and he couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in tighter. Standing there, hugging Bella, he remembered what it had been like to be the big brother to his little sister before he had left for the war. Even during the time that the Cullens had been a complete family he never felt like he truly had siblings. Suddenly, Jasper was overcome with a sadness for the loss of his human family and yet that was quickly replaced with a happiness for his new family. 

Bella sighed as she stepped back from him. In a daze, she walked back over to her chair and picked up her beer. Sitting down she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “This was so not how I expected this night to go.”

Carlisle chuckled as he and Jasper walked back over to the couch to sit down. “Well, my dear, we do try to keep things interesting, don’t we?”

She laughed. “That you do. So let’s say that I accept this being bonded to two vampires. What next? Where do we go now that I have a mate and a bonded brother?”

“That is very simple, darlin’.” Jasper drawled. “We go as slow or fast as you want to. This is completely in your hands you have all of the control.”

“Well, how about for tonight, we turn on a simple movie and just be?” 

“I think we can do that.” Carlisle smiled. “Why don’t you go get comfortable and Jasper will get a movie going.”

Bella nodded and got up from her chair to head to her room. As she got to her door, she glanced into her living room and had to smile at the two Gods sitting there on her couch, silently arguing over what movie to watch. Shaking her head, she quickly went into the bedroom and changed into a t-shirt and shorts before grabbing a blanket as she headed back out to the living room. She chuckled as she saw them sitting on the couch having left the middle open for her.

“So what are we watching?”

“I think I picked something simple.” Jasper shrugged sheepishly. “Guardians of the Galaxy ok?”

Bella sat down between then and tucked herself under the blanket. “That’s fine Jasper.”

The movie started and they all got comfortable on the couch. Carlisle placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to lean against him while Jasper pulled her feet into his lap. She sighed as she got comfortable and lost herself in outer space with Star Lord. Half way through the movie she gave in to the exhaustion that the past month and more had built up.

Carlisle and Jasper sat in their places on the couch making sure to not disturb Bella in her sleep. They quietly talked after the movie ended and waited patiently for morning and for her to rise.

Bella slept the best she had in a very long time. As she awoke, she realized that she must have moved in her sleep. She was still on the couch and her legs were still in Jasper’s lap, yet her head was now in Carlisle’s lap instead of on his shoulder. She knew that this should feel weird about this situation she has found herself in, but she couldn’t find any part of her that thought that way. All she knew was that she had never felt more comfortable and cared for before last night. 

“Did you sleep well, piccola?”

Bella opened her eyes to see Carlisle looking down at her. She smiled back up at him. “I did. Somehow I went from your shoulder to your lap in my sleep, but I did sleep very well, thank you.”

“That would be my doing. I thought you would be more comfortable this way.”

“You were correct. Thank you, Carlisle.” Bella said as she sat up. With a quick stretch she got up from the couch and went to have a quick human moment. She then went straight to her kitchen for her morning coffee. She had a feeling she was going to need it for the day ahead of her. “Jasper?”

“Yes, darlin’?” He called from the doorway. “Starting our questions early?”

“Well, not really. I need my coffee first. I do have a question that’s been bothering me since last night.”

“You can ask me anything, Bella. I promise only to answer honestly.” Jasper said as he leaned against the counter.

“Alright.” She started as she fixed her cup of coffee. “How is it that you were able to be so close to me when I hugged you as well as all night long without, you know, getting thirsty?”

Jasper chuckled as he reached over to brush a stray hair out of her face. “I have you to thank for that, Bella. After what happened at your birthday I made it a goal to get over my bloodlust so that I would never again be a threat to you.”

She turned to look at him. “Really? You should have known I never blamed you for that. I will say that I am proud of you for gaining control over your thirst. Really proud of you.”

Jasper watched as she set her coffee mug down and walked over to him. He didn’t move as she got closer to him. He sighed as she placed her arms around him and gave him a hug. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her in tight and buried his nose in her hair. “Thank you, darlin’.”

The rest of the day was spent catching up. Mainly it was Bella asking all of the questions as the guys pretty much knew what had gone on for her after the Cullens had left her. She filled in a few areas about her career choice and her lack of any form of relationships since. She actually blushed when she honestly put the blame on Carlisle for both of those.

“Me?” Carlisle chuckled. “Why are you blaming me?”

“Well, for one, I told you I never thought of you in a fatherly way and I guess there were a few subconscious reasons as to why I never had any relationships. That and I was always afraid of getting hurt again.” She looked down at her hands. “As for my career choice, well I can say only that I admired your desire to help people and I decided that I wanted to do something to make you proud of me if we ever met up again.”

Carlisle leaned over to Bella and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “You have definitely made me very proud, Bella. I could never be more proud of you.”

Bella got up to go make her dinner all the while lost in thought. In less than two months she went from single, to being mated again to a vampire, then add on being bonded to another vampire. She felt like she needed to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. Shooting a quick glimpse out into her living room, she smiled as she watched Carlisle and Jasper fighting over the last move made in their chess game. Going back to her meal, she went back to thinking about where her life was headed. If she accepted Carlisle as her mate she wondered if he would think like Edward did and want to keep her human. Then she wondered just how deep the bond went with Jasper, would he want to keep her human too? Well those thoughts put a crimp in her good mood.

“Darlin’?” Jasper asked from the doorway. “Why did I just feel your mood swing into sadness?”

“No reason. I was just thinking.” Bella moved to put her spaghetti in a bowl. As she was reaching into the fridge to get the parmesan she was summarily yanked back by Jasper.

“Now I don’t take kindly to being lied to and I know you aren’t doing it to be mean, but remember I’m the empath here. You cannot hide your emotions from me.” Jasper looked into her eyes. “Please tell me why my happy lil sis just turned into sad lil sis.”

Bella looked into his eyes and saw his concern. “It was nothing really. I was just thinking about everything that’s happened in the past two months and where it is all going to go.”

“Bella, love, tell us what’s bothering you.” Carlisle said from the kitchen doorway. 

“I…” She looked from Carlisle to Jasper. “I guess I’m just afraid that if I do accept this pre-made family thing, that my soul may become an issue again.”

“Oh darlin’.” Jasper sighed as he pulled her in close. “I am very selfish and I would turn you right now if you wanted me to. I never realized how much I missed my human family until Edward threw you into our world and now I don’t want to let go of what I have. I’m sure Carlisle feels the same although he has more patience than I do.”

Carlisle chuckled as he pulled Bella into his arms to rest against his chest. Placing a kiss on the crown of her head, he tightened his arms around her. “He is correct, mia piccola, if you want to be turned then that is what we will do, but only when you are ready not any earlier. We won’t force you.”

“Really? You two won’t give me some load of shit about my soul and keep me human?”

“We could never do that to you. Both Jasper and I love you in our own ways and would never take your right to choose how your life goes away from you. I promise.” Carlisle turned her in his arms and rubbed her back gently.

“Thank you. Ok, enough of this, I need to eat.” Bella pulled herself out of his arms and grabbed her food before heading out into the living room. Sitting on the couch she began eating her spaghetti and watched as her boys followed her into the living room to sit.

That night passed much like the night before. Some light talking before a mindless movie was turned on leaving Bella to fall asleep on the couch. This day ended up being a repeated experience for them over the next few months as they all got to really know one another. Carlisle told them all about his life before the Cullens and Jasper told them about his life in Texas before Maria and the time he lead her army. Bella learned every little sordid detail about both of their lives and she learned to love them more for their trust in her. The more time they spent together, the more she loved her boys.

_To be continued…._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Epilogue – 10 years later

Bella stood on her balcony looking out at the picturesque Texas country view. She couldn’t believe the changes her life had gone through over the last ten years. All changes she thought she had ruined when she left that hotel in Seattle, when she had run away from what she had learned. She had truly thought she had ruined everything with Carlisle when she had left him with a note telling him she just needed time to think. Shaking her head, she thought back to the night she couldn’t sleep, where she finally ended up calling out to Jasper. He had provided the one thing that she needed, someone that she could talk to and in return talk some sense into her. That conversation ended with a surprise.

At first she struggled with the idea that she found herself mated to the man that had originally introduced himself as her first ‘mate’s’ father. She ran from him so that she could wrap her head around what Carlisle had told her and her feelings for him. What happened? She eventually ran to Jasper, seeking the comfort and reassurance that only he could give her. She got both in spades as it were. As they talked she felt better about her feelings, but on the reverse side felt worse about how she had left Carlisle. That was until he showed up behind her in the park. That reunion is where her world got turned upside down yet again. Bella learned that she was a part of something very rare, she was mated to one vampire while bonded to another.

Bella prided herself on being sensible and she had already worried that after her first foray with the supernatural that it would be out of her life forever. Yet she was thrown right back in and even though she was good with weird, what she was told took a bit to sink in and for her to accept. She immediately felt the pull to both men and was more worried that it didn’t bother her in the least. That first night she enjoyed spending time with them both just relaxing and not worrying about it. Then she started asking questions, wanting to get to know the men she was supposedly going to spend the rest of her life with. Those next few months were some of the most enjoyable months in her life. Any question she asked, they answered and the same went when it was her turn.

It wasn’t long before Jasper took her out to his house so that she could meet Peter and Charlotte. Oh was that an experience. She quickly learned to ignore Peter or she would be blushing all the time and that Char would be her savior when dealing with the three men in their lives. Bella learned the story of how Peter and Charlotte found each other and where Jasper fit in. Learning that he had actually saved their lives made her so proud of him that she ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. She didn’t know who was more shocked, Jasper or Peter and Charlotte. As time went on, she spent more and more time out at the house on the immense amount of acreage that they owned and less time at her apartment. One day Char showed up at her door with boxes and told her she was moving out.

That was the night she learned you don’t tell Char no. It took three trips before Bella was completely moved out of her apartment and into the house out in the country. She was given her own room as she was the only one that slept and yet she never slept alone. Carlisle would always cuddle with her while she slept. After a month of her new living arrangements she started to wonder what came next. She spent quite a bit of time in her own little spot she had found just inside the tree line thinking about what Jasper and Carlisle meant to her, what it would mean to her if she lost either one of them. In that spot, she realized that she had already accepted them as her family, she had just never voiced it. It didn’t take her long to make her plans on how to show her guys her feelings.

A shout from across the clearing drew Bella from her thoughts. She smiled as she watched Peter and Jasper goofing off, trying to best each other. Looking to the side she saw that Char and Carlisle were resting in the shade watching the two goof off. Leaping up, she sat on the railing as she watched her family enjoying the late afternoon sun. As she watched Jasper move, she caught the sparkle as more of his skin became exposed to the sunlight as Peter caught his t-shirt and ripped it. Even from where she sat, Bella could hear Jasper’s growl as he gave chase to the howling Peter. Seeing a now topless Jasper running around brought her mind back to that night almost ten years ago.

Bella had talked with Char long about what she wanted to do to show Carlisle and Jasper her feelings. She had to admit, at least to herself, that the idea of opening up to them was daunting, but she steeled herself against any kind of rejection and enlisted Char’s help. After a few more pep talks from Char, Bella was ready to set her plan in motion. Char gave her a quick hug, told her where they were going and ran out the door, dragging Peter behind her. Ringing her hands, Bella went up to her room to wait for her men to come find her after they returned from their hunts.

Jasper returned first, as hoped, and found her sitting in her window seat. He always checked on her after he went out on a hunt. This time before he could leave to get cleaned up, she gave him a hug and told him how lucky she was to have a brother like him. It was almost comical how shocked he was at her easy acceptance of him. She watched him go to get ready to join his siblings with a smile, knowing that everything was how it should be.

“Isabella?”

“Hmmm?” She asked, still lost in her memories, that was until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

“Where did you go, my love?”

Leaning back into the embrace, she smiled. “I was just thinking about one of my favorite memories.”

Carlisle leaned down to nibble on her ear. “And which memory would that be?”

Turning in his arms, she nuzzled his neck. “My dear, I was thinking more along the lines of reenacting it.”

Carlisle closed his eyes as he felt her teeth scrape against his neck. “What exactly were you thinking of reenacting, il mio amore?

“Go lay on the bed and I will bring you up to speed.” Bella purred as she slipped out of Carlisle’s embrace. 

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at her but did as she requested. Lying down on the bed, he rested with his back against the headboard as he watched Bella come to stand at the foot of the bed. He bit back a groan as he watched her run her hands up and down her sides.

“Do you want to know what my favorite memory is?” Bella asked as she slowly began to unbutton her shirt, smirking as she saw his eyes go dark with lust. “Do you remember that night almost ten years ago, when I finally accepted you as my mate?”

“How could I forget?” Carlisle asked as he watched her shirt fall to the floor, exposing her black lacy bra. “Although, I have to ask which night it was as you did kind of accept me in stages.”

“Don’t be an ass.” Bella smirked as she ran her hands over her breasts, down her sides to play with the top of her jeans. “I’ll give you a hint. It started with Char dragging Peter and Jasper out of the house, leaving the two of us alone. You found me waiting in my room for you.”

“I have to say, mia piccola, that night is one of my favorite memories too.” Carlisle groaned as the memory ran through his mind and just watched as she opened the button on her jeans and slowly pushed them down her legs exposing her creamy flesh to their eyes. “What does that have to do with now?”

“That, my love, has everything to do with now. As I mentioned, I want to reenact that night.” Bella crawled onto the bed so that she was kneeling next to his legs. “I believe that you are over dressed for the activities I have planned.”

Her laughter could be heard as she watched her mate use his vampire speed to jump off the bed, shed his clothes and get back into his previous spot in mere seconds. “Anxious are we?”

“Not necessarily anxious, my dear, more just always ready for you.” Carlisle chuckled and then groaned as she ran a hand up his leg to drag her nails back down his inner thigh as she moved to kneel between his legs.

“Well, then, even though I said I wanted to reenact that night, I think I need to reward your ever readiness.” Using her hands, Bella started at his ankles. Very slowly she ran her hands up the outside of his legs until she reached his hips. Sighing to herself, she traced her fingers across Carlisle’s lower abdomen, hipbone to hipbone, before letting her hands go where they wanted. Taking his growing erection in hand, she gave a squeeze and smiled as he groaned. After a few strokes, she moved to sit on Carlisle’s waist, running her hands up his chest. She reveled in the feel of his muscles as they twitched under her fingertips. 

Carlisle moaned as he sat up. Fisting his hands in her hair, he pulled her mouth to his so he could claim her in a kiss. He deepened the kiss, dominating her completely and pulled her flush against his body. As he felt her fingers tangle in his hair, he growled and thrust his hips upwards. Not worrying about anything but the current moment, he reached down and cupped her butt as he shifted underneath her.

Bella moaned as she felt Carlisle shift so that he could slide against her core. Pulling her mouth from his, she threw her head back as he began to trail open mouthed kisses down her neck to bite on her collar bone. She was thrown into pleasure overload as she felt his hands trail down her back to pull her tightly against his erection as he thrust up against her.

Carlisle moved his hands to her hips. He smiled as he pulled her hair off of her neck as he leaned in to nibble on her ear. They had spent many a night perfecting their rhythm with learning the ins and outs of each other’s bodies, learning what felt good. Thrusting against her, he ran his hands around to cup her breasts before ripping the bra off her then moved his hands down and ripped off her panties.

Bella groaned as she felt skin against skin. Thrusting her hips forwards, she growled as she felt Carlisle’s desire for her pressed up against her. This was what she was remembering earlier, the joy of being with her mate and not worrying about anything else. Slowly she brought her arms up and pushed Carlisle back so he was lying down. Lifting up she pushed backwards against his thighs that were braced against her back so that he would straighten out his legs. As she moved backwards, she leaned down to place open mouthed kisses down Carlisle’s chest, pausing to bite and suck on a nipple, then moving down his well-defined abdomen to her goal.

Carlisle moaned as he watched her wrap her hand around his base and lean down to lick the tip, collecting the moisture beaded there. This was torture and one that he was very willing to receive from his mate. A growl was ripped from his throat as he was engulfed in the warmth of her mouth.

Bella moaned as she took Carlisle into her mouth, slowly working her way down to take his whole length in until it hit the back of her throat. As she rose up, she ran her teeth on the underside just to make him moan. Locking eyes with him, she brought her hand up to meet her lips and began to work him over while her other hand moved lower to caress his balls. 

Carlisle reached down and fisted his hands in her hair. He couldn’t think clearly when the warmth of her mouth was wrapped tightly around his erection. All he wanted was to lose himself in the sensations she was causing and yet he had a sudden hunger to taste her. Pulling her from him he slid down the bed as he guided her into the position he was putting them in so they could both enjoy themselves.

Bella caught on to what Carlisle was wanting her to do and rotated around so that she was now facing the foot of the bed. Feeling his hands on her hips, she let him guide her to hover over his mouth. With a moan of anticipation, she leaned down to take him into her mouth again. Holding the base with one hand, she used the other to stroke what was not in her mouth. Taking him deep in her mouth, she growled around him as she felt fingers begin to stroke her from behind. 

Carlisle ran his fingers lightly between her folds already glistening with her need for him. Using the fingers of one hand, he parted her lips so he could run a finger around her entrance collecting her fluids before lightly rubbing on her clit. Hearing her moan, he leaned up and ran his tongue along her folds relishing the taste of her on his tongue. 

Bella pulled her mouth from Carlisle long enough to look over her shoulder and glare at him. “Quit teasing me, lover.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Carlisle responded as he waited for her to turn back to his weeping erection. Once he felt her mouth on him, he parted her folds further and ran a finger through her folds and then into her entrance. With one quick thrust, he felt her walls flutter around his finger. Thrusting his finger at a steady pace, he moved his mouth to her clit and sucked it into his mouth. Hearing her moan he added another finger as he started curling his fingers to angle for that elusive spot that would send her into her first orgasm.

Carlisle squeezed his eyes shut as Bella started to move up and down his shaft with more speed. He could feel himself getting close, but he wasn’t ready to let go, he was enjoying her mouth too much. With a groan, he thrust his hips in hopes of guiding her up and down in a rhythm to prolong the pleasure. After ten years, they knew how to time themselves so that they reached their peaks at the same time. Opening his eyes, he could tell from the sounds coming from Bella that she was as close as he was. 

He added another finger before curling his fingers and finding the spot that made Bella moan deeply around his shaft. Sucking her clit into his mouth he light bit down as he picked up the pace of the thrusting of his fingers as his tongue laved at her clit. He could feel her clenching around him and knew that she was close. Leaning back, he gently bit her thigh. “Cum for me, Bella. Cum for me and let me hear your scream.”

Carlisle listened as Bella’s moans grew louder as she drew closer and closer to her orgasm. Hearing the pleasured moans coming from her as she squeezed him was the push that he needed to fly over the edge. With a roar he released into her mouth in long spurts. Moans were dragged from him as she continued to suck him of every last drop he had to offer. As the last tremor passed through him, he sighed as he felt her mouth leave him before she rested her forehead on his hip.

Bella began to thrust backwards against Carlisle’s hand, tilting her hips just right so that he would hit that one spot he needed to. She felt the pleasure build and with one final thrust, she bit down on Carlisle as she flew over the edge into her orgasm. A groan escaped her as he pinched her clit drawing out her orgasm as her muscles clenched tightly around him.

Looking over her shoulder she was just able to make out the sated look on his face. Bella chuckled. “I never get tired of that look, Carlisle”

“I never get tired of the reason for the look, my dear.” He winked at her as he playfully smacked her ass.

Sitting up, she turned around so that she rested her hands on Carlisle’s chest and looked deep in his eyes. “Well, my love, are you ready to reenact my favorite memory?”

“I thought you’d never ask, my dear.” Carlisle felt himself harden just at the thought. He grabbed her hips, pulling her forward. Locking eyes with her, he pulled her down so that her warmth engulfed him to the hilt. “Oh how I love that feeling.”

“Mmmm, me too.” Bella moaned as she circled her hips, enjoying the feeling of him filling her. Leaning forward, she nibbled on his lips. Raising herself up to where she could only feel the tip, she locked her eyes onto Carlisle’s as she slid back down taking him fully back into her warmth.

She moaned as Carlisle slowly begin to thrust into her. As he pulled out, he held onto her hips so that he could thrust back into her. After a few thrusts, he sat up and using his speed, had her turned around and on her hands and knees. Before she had a chance to breathe, he positioned himself behind her and thrust into her again. Setting a slow pace, he curled over her back to place kisses along her shoulder and neck.

Bella growled, tired of the sedate pace. Groaning as Carlisle stopped while he reached around to cup her breasts. A moan was pulled from her as she felt one of his hands snake down her body to cup her mound. “No more teasing, I’m in the mood for fast and hard.”

“I live to please.” Carlisle growled as he thrust back into her. He groaned as he felt her thrust backwards as he thrust in. Reaching down, Carlisle began to slowly rub on her clit knowing it would drive her crazy. Holding onto her hip, he found his rhythm that would bring them both to the edge quickly. Reaching down he wrapped Bella’s hair around his fist and pulled her up so that she was leaning against his chest. The new angle caused him to moan as he thrust deeper into her tight warmth. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer so he pinched her clit, sending her pleasure almost to the edge. He began to kiss along her neck until he found his mark on her and sucked on it, getting a moan in response.

Bella knew what was coming as she felt herself near the edge. There was one thing that would tip her over the edge and she knew that Carlisle was about to give it to her. She closed her eyes as she felt him kiss along her neck. Reaching out behind her with her hands, she wrapped her hands in his hair, holding him to her neck as he began to thrust into her harder. She moaned for him. “Now!”

As ordered, Carlisle bit down into her neck, right over his mark he had left when he turned her and she screamed as her orgasm tore through her. The orgasm was so intense that she felt like she was going to black out even though that wasn’t really possible for a vampire. She growled as he continued to thrust into her, seeking his own pleasure, causing hers to be prolonged. Bella needed to face him, she needed to watch him as he followed her into oblivion. Quickly pulling forward, she turned around only to push him into a sitting position before climbing into his lap. As she slid down over him again, they both moan in pleasure. 

Leaning forward, Carlisle licked over the fresh bite in her neck and began to thrust faster into her, no more care for the rhythm, only wanting to fall over the edge with his Bella. He was finally thrown over the edge as he felt her bite down onto his shoulder. With a growl he thrust deeply into her, spilling his seed with a groan as he felt her muscles tighten around him again from another orgasm. He sighed as he felt her lick the bite closed and he let a small whimper escape him as he felt her lift off of him.

Not wanting to lose the connection, he quickly caught hold of her to lower her onto her back on the bed. Spreading her legs, he raised her hips so he could thrust back into her well lubed entrance from her multiple orgasms. They both moaned as he filled her again. Knowing that he would get her off again, he reached down and began to rub her clit as he thrust into her with more force than before knowing he wouldn’t last long. He moaned as her arms circled around him to drag her nails down his back. Leaning forward he captured her mouth in a searing kiss, dominating it from the start. Feeling himself get closer to that the edge yet again, he pulled back from her just far enough to stare into her eyes. Picking up speed he pinched her clit just as she sank her teeth into his shoulder again and he roared out her name as he slammed into her, spilling his seed deeply within her.

Bella screamed as she fell off that edge yet again and licked the bite on Carlisle’s shoulder. With an exhausted sigh, she let her legs and arms fall limp to the bed and whimpered just slightly as he withdrew from her. Closing her eyes, she laid their trying to calm her breathing as she felt him clean her off before taking care of himself.

Carlisle climbed back into bed next to Bella and turned her onto her side so he could curl around her back. Closing his eyes, he hummed in happiness. “I love you, mia cara.”

“I love you too, Carlisle.” Bella wiggled back into him until she was comfortable. Reaching out her hand without opening her eyes, she twined her fingers with his as his hand rested on her stomach. “I never thought my life would turn out this way or that I could love someone as much as I love you.”

He chuckled as he pulled the covers up over them before he allowed himself to be pulled into relaxing peace that he could only find with his mate. “I love you so very much, my Isabella.”

Bella sighed in contentment as she relaxed in the arms of her mate. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think that she could be this happy and she laughed at how lucky she was.

“And what are you laughing at, my dear?” Carlisle asked as he kissed her neck.

With a smile in her voice she answered. “I was thinking about how lucky I am to have you and how thankful I am for that convention I was forced to attend all those years ago.”

~fin~


End file.
